Building a modern AI data center can exceed $20 billion, a figure that Swiss Re Group has said can double once the graphics processing units (GPUs), tenants, and servers are in place. Post-construction, the infrastructure still requires specialized cooling systems, robust security infrastructure and high-voltage power grid connections to become (and remain) operational.
Due to the need for vast land and renewable energy access, developers are clustering these massive facilities in regions that have historically been highly exposed to natural disasters. This leaves multi-billion-dollar data centers vulnerable to windstorms, floods and droughts — climate events capable of destroying hardware, throttling processing speeds or triggering emergency shutdowns.
