What long‑term national security signals mean for infrastructure

By: Â鶹TVÍřŐľ Chief Growth Officer Harshal Desai

As we mark Infrastructure Week (May 18–22), it is worth stepping back and asking what the country’s own strategic documents are telling us about where infrastructure is headed.

The White House’s , released last November, names priorities that read less like a traditional defense strategy and more like an infrastructure and industrial policy mandate: “Energy Dominance,” “Reindustrialization,” “Reviving our Defense Industrial Base” and “Securing Access to Critical Supply Chains and Materials.” For those of us in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, that language is a signal worth paying attention to.

This blog explores how the latest National Security Strategy reinforces that reality, why it matters now and how Â鶹TVÍřŐľ is positioned to help clients plan, deliver and operate advanced facilities, data centers and other complex, mission‑critical infrastructure.

Reading the Strategy as a Market Signal

Every administration publishes a National Security Strategy. Most are read through a policy lens and filed away. This one deserves a second look — because it functions less as a defense document and more as a signal of where long-term infrastructure demand, capital and execution expectations are converging.

The strategy directly ties national security to America’s ability to build and operate physical infrastructure — energy systems, manufacturing capacity, supply chains and technology facilities. These are not abstract policy goals. They are a practical description of what the country needs to build, and they map almost directly to the work the AEC industry does every day.

What makes this moment different is that the rhetoric is being backed by action.

Since the strategy’s release, the administration has moved beyond rhetoric. In April 2026, the White House invoked the Defense Production Act across five energy sectors — designating the full fossil fuel and grid supply chain as defense-critical and unlocking DOE loans, guarantees and purchase commitments for domestic energy infrastructure. Executive orders have targeted accelerated data center permitting on federal lands, streamlined nuclear reactor licensing with 18-month approval timelines and critical minerals trade actions. Meanwhile, private capital is moving at an unprecedented pace: the top five U.S. hyperscalers are projected to spend a collective $720 billion in capex in 2026, with roughly 75% directed at AI infrastructure. Data center construction starts alone are tracking $88 billion in the next six months. The signal is not just strategic — it is backed by capital and policy mechanisms already in motion.

Why This Matters to the AEC Industry

For the AEC industry, this is not a policy abstraction. It is a description of the projects already moving through our pipelines — grid hardening, domestic manufacturing buildouts, data center campuses, energy generation and supply-chain facilities.

Over the past several years, there has been sustained emphasis on reshoring manufacturing, modernizing power systems, expanding data and digital infrastructure and strengthening supply chains. These priorities reflect long-term changes in how energy, manufacturing, data and supply-chain systems are planned, funded and delivered — reinforced by private capital, public investment and an increased focus on reliability and resilience.

The bar is rising. Speed, reliability, scale and the ability to deliver consistently across complex, mission-critical programs are what clients are selecting for — often ahead of lowest cost.

Â鶹TVÍřվ’ Position in This Environment

From Â鶹TVÍřվ’ perspective, these signals reflect a direction the firm has been intentionally building toward for years. Strategic diversification into power, advanced manufacturing and data center facilities has positioned Â鶹TVÍřŐľ ahead of the curve — not simply following market trends but anticipating the convergence of economic capability and national security priorities.

That positioning is translating into tangible results today. Recent work in power and nuclear environments, a growing role in AI‑driven data center development and experience delivering infrastructure in complex, high‑reliability settings align directly with the needs this environment is generating. Nuclear energy — particularly advanced reactors and small modular reactors (SMRs) — is a growing part of this picture, with federal policy now pushing to streamline licensing and accelerate deployment. One example is Â鶹TVÍřվ’ involvement as part of a nuclear project’s early development, where Â鶹TVÍřŐľ supported critical geotechnical investigation, on-site testing and advanced surveying services — informing site design, infrastructure placement and regulatory approvals for a facility designed to deliver reliable, long-term power capacity. 

Â鶹TVÍřŐľ has also recently secured work supporting a large, nationally scaled data center platform — programs that demand rapid mobilization, consistent execution across regions and reliable delivery in mission-critical environments.

Beyond these core platforms, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ is also active in defense modernization — areas where security spending and infrastructure delivery are converging in real time.

Looking Ahead

The signal from Washington and the capital markets is the same: the country needs to build, and it needs to build fast, at scale and with a level of reliability that many programs have not historically required.

At Â鶹TVÍřŐľ, the focus is on helping clients translate long-term trends into executable solutions — supporting infrastructure across power, advanced manufacturing, data and mission-critical systems that are resilient, adaptable and aligned with where capital and policy are converging.

When this infrastructure gets built well, the benefits extend beyond the project itself — economic opportunity, jobs, reliability and long-term stability for the communities that depend on it. That’s the work Â鶹TVÍřŐľ is focused on.

Brian McGowan understands that leadership is more than just a title. A true leader must be able to think outside the box and be willing to take risks, especially as markets shift and technologies evolve. With more than 25 years of leadership experience across the construction, transportation, environmental, engineering and infrastructure sectors, he has built a career focused on strategic growth, market expansion and organizational advancement.

Brian was recently promoted to a new role at Â鶹TVÍřŐľ as Director of Strategic Growth & Advanced Facilities. In this role, Brian is helping support Â鶹TVÍřվ’ enterprise-wide growth strategy by focusing on revenue acceleration, market expansion, strategic pursuits and the development of high-impact opportunities. We caught up with Brian to discuss how emerging technologies are helping reduce water dependency in the data center market and what trends he’s seeing across the industry.

In honor of , celebrated each year on March 22, Â鶹TVÍřŐľ recognizes the essential role water plays in our communities, industries and environment. As data center growth accelerates across the U.S., Brian answered a few questions regarding the topic of water availability becoming a critical factor in responsible development, as it relates to data centers and advanced facilities.

Q: Is water availability becoming a critical factor in responsible and sustainable data center development? Are our clients worried about water availability?

Yes, water availability is becoming a real constraint in many U.S. markets, especially as Artificial Intelligence or AI-driven hyperscale growth accelerates. Multiple independent analyses show U.S. data centers consume billions of gallons of water annually both directly for cooling and indirectly through power generation.

In water‑stressed regions, like Texas, Arizona, and parts of California, water availability now directly influences site selection, cooling strategies and permitting timelines. In water‑abundant regions, such as the Midwest and Great Lakes, it’s less about absolute supply and more about community perception and expectations.

Clients are typically addressing it in three ways: designing water out of the cooling equation (zero‑water or near‑zero‑water cooling); using reclaimed or non‑potable water where evaporative systems remain and engaging municipalities early to address cumulative impacts and avoid late‑stage permitting resistance.

PQ: What trends are you seeing in reducing water usage at new or existing data center sites?

A few consistent trends show up across both new builds and retrofits. There’s been a clear shift away from evaporative cooling. Traditional evaporative cooling can consume hundreds of thousands of gallons per day per hyperscale facility, so operators are increasingly avoiding these systems in favor of mechanical or liquid cooling solutions that drastically reduce or eliminate water use.

Secondly, Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) is becoming a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), alongside Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE). For many owners, WUE is now tracked alongside PUE, and leading operators report measurable improvements in WUE over time, driven by design standardization and tighter operational controls. 

Additionally, we’ve seen a preference for “future-proofed” designs that can operate without potable water if requirements tighten. Even in regions with ample water today, developers are designing facilities that can operate without potable water if regulations or community expectations tighten over time.

Finally, we’re also seeing more retrofitting of existing facilities to reduce ongoing water draw, most often through hybrid retrofits like dry coolers plus limited liquid cooling, improved controls and leak detection, as well as seasonal switching between cooling modes to minimize water draw during peak demand.

Q: What technologies are being implemented to reduce water usage?

Several technologies are moving from pilot to mainstream deployment:

• Closed-loop liquid cooling (chip-level) — uses a sealed system that recirculates coolant without evaporation. Once filled during construction, it typically requires little to no ongoing water input. 
• Air-cooled and dry-cooler systems — can consume zero water, typically with higher energy tradeoffs. They are becoming increasingly viable when paired with advanced controls and when regional climate conditions are favorable.
• Immersion cooling — servers are submerged in engineered fluids, which can be extremely efficient for high‑density AI racks. It’s still an emerging technology, but it is gaining traction where water and space constraints are severe. 
• Smart water-management platforms — enable real‑time monitoring of WUE, leaks and cooling performance and support continuous optimization rather than static design assumptions.

Q: From a development and permitting standpoint, how is water stewardship becoming critical?

Water stewardship has become central to entitlement risk management. Municipalities and utilities increasingly require disclosure of projected water use and contingency plans. In some jurisdictions, approvals are being conditioned on measures such as use of reclaimed water, zero‑water cooling commitments and long‑term monitoring and reporting.

Community scrutiny has also intensified. High‑profile cases where data centers consumed a material share of local water supply have made transparency non‑negotiable in many markets. This has led to some hyperscalers to issue a community data center pledge reinforcing their commitment to protecting watersheds and water supply.

From a practical standpoint, projects that address water early move faster, while projects that treat water reactively face delays, opposition or redesign.

Q: Looking ahead, what’s one emerging technology that will define water-efficient data center development in the next five years — and what will be transformative over the next decade?

Over the next five years, I’d point to closed-loop, chip-level liquid cooling. This technology is the near‑term inflection point because it eliminates evaporative water use, scales effectively with AI rack densities and is already being standardized by hyperscalers. 

The biggest transformation won’t be a single device; it will be systems thinking: water‑free cooling paired with low‑water power generation, AI‑driven optimization of cooling, energy and water simultaneously, as well as facilities designed to be net‑neutral or net‑positive in local water impact through reuse and watershed investment.

Q: What’s the bottom line you want stakeholders to remember?

Water has moved from a supporting utility to a strategic constraint and a differentiator in data center development. Owners who can demonstrate credible, technically sound water stewardship are earning faster approvals, stronger community trust and more resilient assets.

As we recognize World Water Day, it’s clear that water stewardship is no longer optional — it’s foundational to sustainable, future‑ready data‑center development. Brian’s insights highlight not only the challenges ahead but also the promising innovations shaping a more resilient and resource‑efficient digital infrastructure.