Overview

• Utilities are facing multi-year queues as speculative multi-gigawatt interconnection requests flood systems and delay legitimate AI projects.
• Data-center vacancy has hit record lows near 2.3%, with Northern Virginia and Dallas accounting for half of new demand in early 2025.
• Major hyperscalers are investing in dedicated power assets—ranging from on-site natural gas turbines to revived nuclear projects—to bypass constrained grids.
• Regulators and investors are weighing accelerated permitting and hundreds of billions of dollars in transmission and generation upgrades to relieve acute bottlenecks.
• Grid operators have launched AI-driven management pilots that forecast instability and optimize hosting capacity, though physical infrastructure expansion remains critical.