Are data centers reserving too much grid power?

Commercial buildings, light manufacturing industries and transportation are increasingly electrified, while digital infrastructure (such as data centers) continues to expand. In some cases, grid operator connection queues can exceed a country’s entire installed electricity capacity. The issue is most acute in certain regions, including around major cities with many data centers, where grid connection lead times often exceed 5 years and are dependent on expansion and improvement to transmission and distribution systems.

Clearly, data center operators should strive to use their full grid connection capacity responsibly. This report examines how well-equipped data centers are to achieve this, and includes a grid operator perspective.