WASHINGTON, July 8 — On the ground at AI data center construction sites across the United States, the work has stopped. Not because of a shortage of chips or a permitting fight, but because thieves have ripped out the copper wiring and made off with specialized equipment, leaving project managers staring at empty trenches and months-long delays. The U.S. Department of Energy laid out the scope of the problem in a February 2025 briefing to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Copper and equipment thefts at these sites, the DOE reported, are pushing projects back by an average of three months. The briefing drew on data from 20 major theft incidents recorded in 2024 alone.
Each stolen spool of copper wire or missing piece of gear sets off a chain reaction. The delays stem from the need to reorder specialized equipment — components that often carry lead times of 8 to 12 weeks — and to reinstall copper wiring that has already been stripped from the ground or walls. By the time replacement parts arrive and new wiring is laid, the calendar has slipped by a quarter of a year.
A bottleneck for the National AI Initiative
The timing could not be worse. The 2023 National AI Initiative set a target of 50 new AI data centers by 2027. The DOE’s briefing made clear that these theft-driven delays are slowing the deployment of AI infrastructure, potentially jeopardizing that goal.
The cost overruns are compounding the schedule problems. The DOE estimated that thefts have driven up construction costs by 10 to 15 percent per project.
That money is not going to faster builds or better equipment. It is going to security upgrades and to insurance premiums that have spiked as underwriters price in the risk of another raid. Residents describe a pattern that has become familiar in rural and exurban counties where these sprawling data center campuses are rising.
Construction sites that once sat open and unguarded now bristle with floodlights and patrols. But the thieves, often organized crews working at night, have proven difficult to stop.
Tax incentives as a deterrent
The DOE’s recommendation to Congress was direct: use the tax code to change the economics of site security. The department proposed that the federal government provide tax incentives for companies to install advanced security systems. The idea is to make it cheaper for developers to harden their sites than to absorb repeated theft losses — and to shift the calculus for the criminals who currently face little risk of being caught.
By nightfall at any active data center construction site, the pattern repeats. Security guards check gates.
Workers lock down equipment. And project managers check the inventory one last time, knowing that a single missing cable spool can mean another three months of waiting.
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