The rush to capitalize on the buzz around AI has led tech companies to dramatically expand their data center footprints. That's been good news for companies like Nvidia, but it has also led to unprecedented growth in the power industry. New and expanded data centers are expected to double the sector's power demand by 2029, according to JLL. As a result, developers and tech companies have been working overtime to lock in capacity. Nuclear and natural gas have gotten boosts from the forecasted demand, but few technologies have benefited in the near term like solar. Though solar power suffers from what experts call intermittency ' it won't produce if the sun isn't shining ' the upsides have been so significant that companies have been inking large deals at a rapid pace. Unlike advanced nuclear reactors, which have yet to be deployed at commercial scale, solar power is proven technology. And unlike new natural gas power plants, which take years to plan and construct, the average...
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