Power and grid buildout
Electricity, grid connections and generation for datacentres.
capabilityBuilt today Built but scarce · 5 of 5 Open on the map →
Facts
- Lane
- Energy
- Wave
- 1 of 12 (build order, not a date)
- Needs
- 0 boxes all the way back through hard links
- Unlocks
- 110 boxes downstream through hard links
- Leverage
- None: already built
- Cluster
- Assistants and the public
Evidence as of October 2026
The IEA projects datacentre electricity use more than doubling, from about 415 TWh in 2024 to about 945 TWh by 2030. New transmission lines take four to eight years, and around 20% of planned projects could be delayed.
Detail boxes 7
Datacentres building their own gas or other plants on site instead of waiting for the grid.
SemiAnalysis counts about 75 GW of firm behind-the-meter orders for AI compute and about 3 GW of US IT load running on it by the end of 2026. A 1 GW islanded plant costs about $5bn.
The turbines and engines that new gas generation needs, now sold years ahead.
GE Vernova’s gas backlog plus slot reservations reached 116 GW at the end of the second quarter of 2026, and SemiAnalysis says turbine slots are sold out into the 2030s.
Electricians, boilermakers and other trades to build datacentres and their power.
SemiAnalysis projects a gap of about 288,000 workers in 2027, with boilermakers the scarcest. This is one analyst’s estimate.
Substation and generator step-up transformers that every grid connection and new plant needs, custom-built over years from scarce electrical steel.
High-capacity transformer lead times reach up to four years and prices rose about 80% in five years (PwC and Wood Mackenzie, reported May 2026); the core steel (GOES) has one US maker, Cleveland-Cliffs' Butler Works, whose 25% expansion is due in early 2028.
Medium-voltage switchgear, large diesel generators and UPS systems between the grid and the racks, each with its own long lead time.
Contractor data (June 2026) put 38 kV switchgear at 78-104 weeks and 3.5-4.5 MW gensets at 90-110 weeks; GE Vernova's electrification backlog reached $42.2B in Q3 2026, up 60% year on year.
Grid-operator rules on how fast datacentres connect, who pays for upgrades and when they can co-locate with generation.
On 18 Jun 2026 FERC ordered all six regional grid operators it regulates to justify or change their rules for loads of 50 MW or more, including new interim and non-firm services; compliance tariffs are still being filed.
Datacentres connect faster by agreeing to be cut off or ramp down in grid emergencies, which needs workloads that can shed load within minutes.
Under Texas SB 6 and PUCT rules, co-located loads of 75 MW or more must fully curtail within 30 minutes of an ERCOT emergency instruction without compensation; the PUCT imposed this on Crusoe on 23 Apr 2026.