Utility-scale renewables are getting stuck in grid interconnection queues for up to nine years.
According to Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, there is now over 2,300 gigawatts (2.3+ terawatts) of generation and storage capacity trapped in U.S. queues—the vast majority of it clean energy.
As Tim Hade highlighted on a recent episode of the Catalyst podcast with Shayle Kann, clearing these regional transmission queues can take about four years in ERCOT, six years in PJM, and up to nine years in CAISO.
Let that sink in: over 2.3 terawatts of clean power waiting nearly a decade for grid approval, while AI data centers are desperately searching for power right now.
Tech giants are already pivoting to bypass this exact bottleneck. Take Google: instead of waiting years for standard utility grid connections, they partnered with Intersect Power to build massive co-located “energy parks.” By placing data centers directly alongside newly built solar, wind, and battery storage, Google draws power behind the meter—bypassing transmission queue delays, reducing grid loss, and bringing capacity online years faster.
Which begs the obvious question: why let clean energy sit idle?
Instead of waiting on grid infrastructure that’s years behind, we should be pairing upcoming data center loads directly with renewable projects. Co-locating or matching them solves two major headaches at once:
- Renewable developers Get an immediate anchor off-taker and monetization path without waiting in queue limbo.
- Data center operators Get fast-track access to clean power so capacity can come online years ahead of schedule.
That’s why I built WattConnector — a matchmaking platform designed specifically to pair data center projects with available and upcoming renewable energy assets.
Who this is for
WattConnector is built for people who need ranked load–generation shortlists — not a project atlas. The primary persona is a power or site lead at a mid-market data center developer or renewables IPP running a handful of live projects and wanting a weekly ranked shortlist by ISO.
- Data center power & site teams Colo, regional developers, and hyperscale consultants who need clean-power paths that avoid long interconnection queues.
- Renewables / storage offtake BD IPPs and developers looking for nearby anchor loads for projects stuck or delayed in queues.
- Energy brokers, PPA & BTM advisors, infra bankers People who originate deals between load and generation and want ranked shortlists they can share with clients.
If you’re looking for a power buyer near a project, clean power near a load, or a ranked shortlist by ISO, explore the live pairings — or join the pilot:
Open WattConnector →