What it means
The interconnection queue is the backlog of projects — new data centers and new generation alike — waiting for permission and infrastructure to connect to the electricity grid. It is measured in years, not months, and it has become one of the least visible but most binding constraints on AI. A site can have land, chips and capital and still be unable to switch on because the grid cannot yet deliver power to it. This queue turns the AI build-out into a story about transmission, permitting and the physical grid, far from the chips that get the attention.
Why it matters to investors
A multi-year wait to plug in reshapes the AI timeline and hands an advantage to whoever already holds power or grid access. For investors it elevates utilities, grid-equipment suppliers and firms with secured interconnection — and it is a real risk to aggressive data-center build plans that assume power on demand.
Companies on this part of the chain
Named to show where the term sits in the AI supply chain — research, not advice, and never a recommendation to buy or sell.
Related terms
See Grid interconnection queue in the live AI chain.
THE ENTITY maps every constraint onto one live model — which part is tight now, who owns it, and who gets squeezed when it moves. Plain-English reads you can check.
THE ENTITY is an educational read on the AI supply chain — research, not investment advice. It explains how the chain works and who sits where, never price targets or buy/sell calls.