Inside US Energy & Infrastructure

The growth of AI and data centres is creating a huge new infrastructure challenge across the US: power.

As billions continue to be invested into new data centre capacity, access to electricity, grid connections and energy infrastructure is becoming an increasingly important part of where and how these projects are developed.

And that’s bringing areas of the legal market that may once have felt relatively separate much closer together.

A data centre isn’t simply a real estate development.
It can involve enormous power requirements, grid connections, energy procurement, project financing, construction, land use, regulatory approvals and potentially renewable generation or storage.

AI is changing the power conversation

The rapid growth of AI infrastructure is putting increasing pressure on electricity networks across the US.
Power availability is now one of the biggest considerations for new data centre development, bringing power procurement, grid connections, utility regulation, financing and project development into the same conversation.

For Energy & Infrastructure lawyers, that means digital infrastructure is becoming an increasingly significant part of the market.

Regulation is developing too

The scale and speed of data centre development is also attracting greater attention from regulators.
More than 200 data-centre-related bills were introduced across US states in 2025, covering areas including energy pricing, water usage, environmental standards, siting, labour and security.
That activity has continued into 2026 as states consider how to balance the economic opportunities created by major new developments with their impact on power, water and surrounding communities.

What does this mean for lawyers?

Some of the biggest infrastructure projects being developed in the US now sit across several traditional practice areas.

We’re seeing work spanning:
→ Project Finance
→ Project Development
→ Energy & Infrastructure M&A
→ Power & Renewables
→ Data Centres & Digital Infrastructure

For lawyers, that can create opportunities to work across the full lifecycle of major energy and infrastructure transactions rather than remaining within one defined area of Project Finance.

Current Opportunities in US

Looking at the US Energy & Infrastructure market?

With continued investment across power, renewables, digital infrastructure and major development projects, Energy & Infrastructure remains an active area of the US legal market.

We’re currently working with a number of leading US law firms across the Energy & Infrastructure space, including teams growing their capabilities across Project Finance, Project Development, M&A, Power & Renewables and Digital Infrastructure.

For a confidential discussion contact Pippa McCaw at
Pippa-McCaw@beacon-legal.com