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title: "Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive — Stuff That Spins"
description: "A new AI data center can be up and running in a year. Building new energy infrastructure to power it could take a decade."
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keywords: ["narrative intelligence", "SpinGraph", "AI recall"]
date: "2026-07-29T14:03:50+00:00"
modified: "2026-07-31T18:07:06.825829+00:00"
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# Data Centers Are Easy to Build. Powering Them Is Complicated, Slow, and Expensive

**Source:** Unknown  
**Published:** July 29, 2026  
**Original:** https://www.404media.co/data-centers-power-energy-grid-epa-clean-air-act/  

## On this page

- [Overview](#overview)

<a id="overview"></a>

## Overview

A new AI data center can be up and running in a year. Building new energy infrastructure to power it could take a decade.

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