“Nevertheless, based on these data points, I’m comfortable estimating that North American data center absorption — as the IT load of data centers actually turned on and in operation — was at around 3GW for 2025, which would work out to about 3.9GW of total power.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
About 3GW of IT load (about 3.9GW of power) of North American data center capacity was actually turned on in 2025.
Assessment: Unresolved Evidence as of
Where and when Ed Zitron wrote it
Where's Your Ed At, The AI Industry Is Lying To You, paragraph 32.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment wyea-the-ai-industry-is-lying-to-you-d5e274-a1
We recorded 33 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-28. The source may have been edited after 2026-03-24. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- North American data center absorption
- the IT load of data centers actually turned on and in operation
- around 3GW for 2025
- about 3.9GW of total power
Our interpretation
- Assess newly operational North American IT capacity during calendar 2025, including colocation and owner-operated facilities.
- Capacity must be operational, rather than merely leased, announced or delivered as an unfinished shell.
- 'Around' permits ordinary estimation uncertainty; no arbitrary numerical tolerance is imposed.
- The total-power estimate implies a power usage effectiveness ratio of approximately 1.3, which requires separate support.
Counts as supported if: Comparable commissioning or operating-capacity records establish approximately 3 GW of newly operational IT load in North America during 2025, with facility-power requirements consistent with approximately 3.9 GW.
Counts as contradicted if: Comparable records establish materially more or less operational IT capacity, beyond reasonable estimation uncertainty, or materially different associated facility-power requirements.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Unresolved
The record was checked, and the evidence available by the cutoff does not settle it.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
CBRE's 2,497.6 MW figure concerns net absorption in primary markets, not all newly operational North American capacity. Cushman & Wakefield reports 3.9 GW delivered across the Americas in H2 alone, but its geography and delivery measure differ. These figures cannot fairly be treated as interchangeable. The searched evidence does not establish either the complete operational total or the claimed facility-power conversion.
Limitations
- Market coverage differs substantially between trackers.
- Leasing, delivery, commissioning and actual utilization are distinct measures.
- The larger delivery figure is counterevidence worth investigating, not a directly comparable outcome.
Evidence (2 items)
Context only: CBRE,
2,497.6 MW
Why it matters here: This establishes primary-market net absorption near the starting point of Zitron's estimate. It does not measure all newly operational North American capacity or its total power requirements.
- Publisher
- CBRE
- Kind of source
- Independent measurement
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: Cushman & Wakefield,
3.9 GW of new supply
Why it matters here: The release reports 3.9 GW delivered in the second half alone, which is material contrary context. Its Americas geography and delivered-colocation measure prevent treating it as a direct contradiction of operational North American IT load.
- Publisher
- Cushman & Wakefield
- Kind of source
- Independent measurement
- Describes events of
- Public from
What would settle it
A reconciled 2025 North American census of newly operational IT capacity, including owner-operated sites and smaller markets, plus measured or documented facility-power overhead.
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Where's Your Ed At, The AI Industry Is Lying To You
Nevertheless, based on these data points, I’m comfortable estimating that North American data center absorption — as the IT load of data centers actually turned on and in operation — was at around 3GW for 2025, which would work out to about 3.9GW of total power.
- Where
- paragraph 32
- Published
- 2026-03-24
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment wyea-the-ai-industry-is-lying-to-you-d5e274-a1: Current. Outcome: Unresolved. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.
About assessment wyea-the-ai-industry-is-lying-to-you-d5e274-a1.