Layer 1 · The numbers that decide
Equipment lead times — transformers, switchgear, generators
How long it takes to buy the electrical gear standing between a signed power contract and an energised rack. Measured in weeks from order to delivery.
The number
- What it is
- How long it takes to buy the electrical gear standing between a signed power contract and an energised rack. Measured in weeks from order to delivery.
- Typical values
- Power transformers average 128 weeks · generator step-up units 144 weeks · high-capacity units up to 4 years · medium-voltage switchgear, large generators, UPS and transfer switches all 2-4x pre-pandemic norms
Verified 2026-09-09.
The catch
This is the constraint nobody puts in the plan, and it sits downstream of every other one on this page. A four-year interconnection date means nothing if the transformer behind it is a 128-week order you have not placed yet. Prices are up 77% for power transformers and 45% for generator step-up units since 2019, so the delay costs you twice. Gas is not an escape either: GE Vernova reported 116 GW of turbine capacity under contract — 53 GW of backlog plus 63 GW of slot reservations — running into 2029.
What this is powering
A GB200 NVL72 rack draws 120–132 kW and a GB300 pushes 135–200 kW, against a 2026 average rack of about 27 kW. The silicon decision and the power decision are the same decision, made eighteen months apart.
Layer 2 — Silicon · GB200 NVL72 · The 150 W inference option
Others in the numbers that decide
Sources
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