Grid access · resource ledger
Interconnection Queue
AI did not create the five-year generation queue. Large data-center loads do create new grid work.
Scapegoated5 yearsmedian request-to-operation time for projects built in 2023
What the evidence supports
LBNL found that generation projects completed in 2023 spent a median of five years in the queue. Nearly 2,600 GW was still waiting, more than 95% of it zero-carbon resources. That backlog predates the current AI buildout. FERC is now working separately on rules for connecting large loads.
- How the effect works
- Generation queues study projects that supply the grid. Large-load processes study customers drawing power from it. They are separate processes with shared transmission impacts.
- Who pays or benefits
- Delayed generators, large loads and ultimately customers pay for slow studies and network upgrades. Faster, better-managed queues reduce delays across grid projects.
- What limits supply
- Study throughput, speculative projects, transmission planning, cost allocation and incomplete tariff rules for flexible or co-located loads.
- Attribution boundary
- The five-year generation queue predates the AI buildout. New data centers add separate large-load studies and transmission work.
- Evidence that changes the grade
- Comparable queue data showing AI-related large-load studies displace generation projects or increase completion times changes the grade.
Sources