Layer 1 · Where the power comes from
Wind PPA
Operators buying clean attributes rather than physical delivery.
The shape of it
- Lead time
- 24-48 months
- Capital cost
- Contract, not build
- Carbon
- Near zero operational
- Maturity
- proven
Verified 2026-09-09.
The catch
A PPA is usually financial, not physical. It cleans your reporting without necessarily putting an electron in your rack — a distinction worth being honest about internally.
What it actually decides
Good for carbon accounting. Does not solve a capacity problem.
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 where the power comes from
- Grid interconnection — 4-5 years typical, approaching 5 on average
- Nuclear PPA (existing plants) — 1-3 years to contract; the plant already exists
- Small modular reactors (SMR) — 2030s for meaningful capacity
- On-site natural gas turbines — 12-24 months, the fastest firm power available
- Behind-the-meter generation — Depends on the generation, but it skips the queue
- Solar + battery storage — 18-36 months
Want this whole layer as one table?
The power and cooling options on these pages as a single CSV — lead time, capex, carbon, maturity, density supported, PUE, the catch and what each one decides — ready to sort, filter or load into a notebook.
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