Power and grid — the new binding constraint
Power has become THE binding constraint for data centers and increasingly for high-intensity industrial. Grid connection timelines average 4+ years in major hubs. Power transformer lead times reached 128–144 weeks. For the asset owner with secured power, this constraint is a moat. For the developer without, it's a fatal obstacle.
Per ERCOT, the operator was monitoring 233+ GW of large load interconnection requests as of December 2025 — up almost 300% over 2024 year-end. PJM's 2025/2026 capacity auction priced at $14.7 billion vs. $2.2 billion the prior year.
Nuclear is returning. Microsoft's 2024 Three Mile Island restart agreement with Constellation Energy; Amazon's nuclear-powered Pennsylvania data center campus; several Small Modular Reactor (SMR) PPAs signed in 2025. NRC permitting for SMRs remains the gating item; mid-2030s commercial deployment is realistic.
For real estate investors: data center sites with secured power and interconnection are worth premiums of 30–100% over identical sites without. This is the new "trophy office" of infrastructure real estate — the rare asset that capital cannot quickly replicate.