Executive Summary

• Bring your own power is a movement whereby operators bypass the public utility grid and generate their own power on-site or through contracts.
• Global capacity is set to double by 2030 according to JLL, and we’re stuck in a battle for power, so operators are turning away from the grid and sourcing their own uninterruptible power that is fully reliable and has no risk of outages caused by the public grid.
• From solar, wind, fuel cells, or nuclear power, these on-site microgrids using renewable energies will enable operators to minimise or eliminate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as well.

Substantial growth in AI and the increase in power demand have left us needing racks of 100kW and beyond to cope with AI’s appetite; the traditional grid is at breaking point, with multi-year waits for grid connections and developers desperately turning to different power solutions just to stay online, let alone keep up with and adapt to the unpredictable demand. This year, developers are forced to underwrite grid access before land, incentives or even tenant interest.

JLL’s 2026 Global Data Centre Outlook states that nearly 100GW of capacity will be added between this year and 2030, which almost doubles global capacity, and with grid connections in primary data centre markets exceeding four years, it’s now a race to secure power.

The bring your own power movement

This movement, or strategy, involves data centre developers independently generating or contracting dedicated, on-site electricity, which can be sourced from solar, wind, fuel cells, or nuclear power, rather than relying on the public utility grid.

Not only does it bypass the congested grid, but it ensures reliability and consistency of an always-on micro-grid with uninterrupted power that won’t be at risk from public grid outages or peak demand shortages. It also makes progress with their corporate sustainability goals, since they match their power loads with renewable energy or zero-carbon energy storage.  Using renewables in the BYOP strategy will enable operators to minimise or eliminate Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions as well.

Behind-the-metre is getting attention

BTM, or behind-the-metre, data centres generate their own electricity on-site, thus bypassing the public utility grid completely. By using localised power sources such as natural gas turbines, fuel cells, to co-located nuclear and solar farms, they aim to deliver constant, reliable power directly to their servers without the headache of connecting to the congested grid.

Data centre operators have been using behind-the-metre solutions to avoid stalling mid-year growth; JLL expects on-site power arrangements and colocated battery storage will increase this year due to the grid being overwhelmed. While grid connections account for 45% of power generation for data centres, on-site and hybrid approaches account for nearly half of all announced capacity, reflecting the broader “Bring Your Own Power” (BYOP) movement.

Capacity planning is shifting in 2026

Capacity planning is undergoing significant changes, shifting from strategies to unlock stranded capacity to initial planning phases that require a credible power path before investment. The operators who will successfully get to market in the next few years amid these power battles are the ones that have a reliable power path that doesn’t fully rely on the public grid and can prove which sites can be powered, when and at what cost.