Berkshire Hathaway's New CEO Warns Energy Constraints Could Hinder AI Data Center Growth
Greg Abel, the new CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, warned that energy infrastructure limitations—specifically grid permitting and interconnection delays—are becoming a major constraint on the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers. He emphasized that while chip shortages have been discussed as an issue, it is actually site readiness for power supply that poses the biggest bottleneck. Berkshire Energy currently serves 8% of its Iowa load from AI-related demand and expects this to grow further. Abel highlighted Alphabet's significant capital expenditures on AI infrastructure in Q2 FY2026—$44.9 billion—and a full-year guidance between $175–185 billion, underscoring the scale of energy needs for data centers. In addition, Berkshire Hathaway recently invested an additional $6.5 billion into Alphabet at a 6.5% discount during its Q2 equity push totaling around $24 billion. Abel explained that this investment was driven by confidence in AI's transformative impact and Google’s role as a key player.
Topics: AI Alphabet Berkshire Hathaway Data Centers Power Grid Constraints