Interconnection queue
The interconnection queue is the utility or grid operator’s process for studying and approving a new connection to the grid, for a power plant supplying electricity or a large load such as a data center consuming it.
The queue in numbers
| Generation and storage projects waiting in the U.S. (end of 2024) | About 10,300, about 2,300 GW |
| ERCOT large load requests (November 2025) | 226 GW, against about 105 GW installed |
| Request to operation, projects built 2018-2024 | Over four years |
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and ERCOT figures, as cited in how power reaches an AI data center.
How it works
A study, then construction. The utility or grid operator studies whether the existing network can carry the new connection, then the upgrades are built. There are two queues: generation (plants supplying power) and load (facilities such as data centers consuming it) (how power reaches an AI data center).
It takes years. For projects built between 2018 and 2024, the median from request to commercial operation exceeded four years. At 20 MW or more a data center needs its own substation, and substation construction alone runs 2-4 years.
Most projects never connect. Of the generation capacity that applied in the U.S. from 2000 to 2019, only 13% was operating by the end of 2024 and 77% had withdrawn (the modular data center opportunity).
What lenders check
The power date is the revenue date. A cluster financed before its site is energized pays interest with no revenue, and a slip of 60 days or more is an early warning sign (the risks, ranked).
Diligence confirms the interconnection agreement, the utility’s energization date and the substation schedule in writing before funding, which is what our site evaluation checks. Behind-the-meter power is the main way around the queue.
Discuss a transaction
Send us the equipment list and the loan or lease you have in mind. We will come back with an indication and the questions we would need answered.
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