The grid and large loads

Here is a short lesson. For a data center or any large load, the interconnection queue — the line to connect to the grid — is usually the binding constraint, more often than land or zoning.

The Department of Energy reported that data centers used about 4.4 percent of all U.S. electricity in 2023. Its report projected they could use about 6.7 to 12 percent by 2028.

The Department of Energy calls data centers one of the most energy-intensive building types. They can use 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office building.