CONSTRUCTION DEFECT JOURNAL

"News and Information for Construction Defect and Claims Professionals"

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT JOURNAL - ISSUE 242749 - TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2026

Texas Prepares to Restart Data Center Construction, with Around 300 Projects Under Review And 6,608 MW Awaiting Energization Approval, Driving Demand for Rapid-Response Lifting Operations

Data Center Under Construction

With labor shortages already delaying projects and delays costing up to $14.2 million per month for a 60 MW data center, early logistics planning is becoming critical.

October 20, 2026
—
Sarens

Texas is experiencing an unprecedented increase in power demand. The ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) power grid reached a record peak demand of 91.1 GW in summer 2026, 6% above the previous record, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This is compounded by interconnection requests totaling around 474 GW, more than five times the record peak, with approximately 90% of these requests related to data centers, according to the Office of the Governor of Texas. Within this context, authorities have launched a comprehensive review process. In August , the Governor directed the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and ERCOT to audit all data centers progressing toward grid connection, covering around 300 projects. ERCOT has also suspended approvals to energize data centers of 75 MW or more and has set December 10 as the date for the publication of its reports.

For the industry, this pause creates a valuable planning window. Goldman Sachs notes that it takes 18 to 24 months to build a data center once permits have been secured, while only 50% to 60% of planned capacity is delivered on schedule. Supply chain constraints and labor shortages are among the most common causes of delays. In this context, construction agility is becoming increasingly critical. A one-month delay at a typical 60 MW U.S. data center is estimated to cost up to $14.2 million in lost revenue, additional costs and penalties, according to STL Partners data. Against this backdrop, Sarens, which has operated in the U.S. since 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, with offices also in Odessa and Beaumont, positions as a logistics partner for developers and contractors preparing for the execution phase.


Use the form below to search the CDJ Archives: Search by topic, name, keywords, etc...

CDJ ARCHIVES-NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED