Layer 1 · The numbers that decide
The interconnection queue
The waiting list to connect new load or generation to the grid. In 2026 it is the single most important number in AI infrastructure and almost nobody outside the industry has heard of it.
The number
- What it is
- The waiting list to connect new load or generation to the grid. In 2026 it is the single most important number in AI infrastructure and almost nobody outside the industry has heard of it.
- Typical values
- US queue over 2,600 GW · average wait approaching 5 years · withdrawal rate near 80%
Verified 2026-09-06.
The catch
A queue position is not power. With four in five projects withdrawing, a competitor's announced gigawatts and their delivered gigawatts are very different numbers — and press releases quote the first.
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