Glossary
grid interconnect queue
The regulatory queue a new generation or load project must traverse to connect to the grid; currently the binding constraint on how fast gigawatt-class AI sites come online.
The regulatory and engineering process under which a new power source or large load gets approved to connect to the transmission grid. Includes feasibility studies, system impact studies, facility studies, and final interconnection agreements. Lead times in the major US RTOs (PJM, MISO, ERCOT, CAISO) ran 3 to 7 years as of late 2024 and continue to grow.
For AI infrastructure, interconnect queues are the bottleneck that behind-the-meterinfrastructureA power arrangement where generation sits on the same side of the utility meter as the load, letting a data center draw directly from the plant and bypass the grid. Open full entry , brownfield repowering, and nuclear PPAs are designed to bypass. A new 1 GW data center load on a constrained node may face years of study before it can come online; siting next to existing nuclear or natural gas generation is faster.
The political economy is contentious. AI loads compete with new renewables, new generation, and other industrial loads for limited interconnect capacity. FERC Order 2023 reformed several queue practices but the structural backlog persists.