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Explainer · Energy

Is 2,000 GW of new power about to hit the grid?

Here's what the queue number actually means.

Updated November 1, 2026 · Numbers as published by each source on the date shown

No. Over 2,060 GW of power plants and batteries were waiting to connect to the US grid at the end of 2025, but a place in line is a request, not a project under construction. Only 13% of capacity that asked to connect from 2000 to 2020 had reached commercial operations by the end of 2025. The nearer pipeline is the 549 GW that already has an interconnection agreement.

What the queue is

Before a power plant or large battery can plug into the transmission grid, the grid operator studies what new equipment or upgrades are needed and assigns the cost of that equipment. The list of projects going through those studies is called an interconnection queue. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) gathers the queues from all seven regional grid operators and 50 other utilities each year in its Queued Up report.

How big the queue is right now

Berkeley Lab reports that as of the end of 2025, there were about 8,200 projects actively seeking grid interconnection, representing 1,312 GW of generation and approximately 749 GW of storage. That adds up to over 2,060 GW. By type, the active queue held 773 GW of solar, 749 GW of storage, 253 GW of natural gas and 220 GW of wind.

Total active volume decreased 10% from the year before, as many projects withdrew and fewer new requests came in. Natural gas was the one major type that grew, up 86%.

How much of it gets built

Berkeley Lab says plainly that most of this proposed capacity will not be built. Of all the capacity that submitted interconnection requests from 2000 to 2020, 13% had reached commercial operations by the end of 2025, 75% had been withdrawn and 10% was still active.

Developers often file for more sites than they plan to build, then drop the ones that turn out too costly to connect. So the queue is best read as a list of options, not a forecast.

What is moving forward

549 GW of capacity already has a draft or executed interconnection agreement but has not yet reached commercial operations. That includes 256 GW of solar, 161 GW of storage, 76 GW of wind and 45 GW of gas. An agreement means the studies are done and the connection terms are set, so this is the part of the line closest to construction.

Federal rules known as FERC Order 2023, along with other reforms, are being put in place to speed up the studies. Berkeley Lab says it is too early to measure their full impact.

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Why it takes years

Time in line is getting longer. For the regions with data, Berkeley Lab found the median time from interconnection request to commercial operation was over 5 years for projects built in 2025. A project that files today is often planning for the next decade, not next year.

The queue in one line each

What to watch next

Watch the agreement number more than the queue total, and watch how much is actually switched on each year. Battery operators alone told the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) they plan to bring 54 GW of battery storage online over the next two and a half years.

For why big grid numbers need a unit check, see megawatts vs megawatt-hours. For one reason connections take time, see the transformer shortage. Follow US energy on the live dashboard, and find past Monday Haul issues in the archive.

Common questions

Is 2,000 GW of new power about to be built?

No. Over 2,060 GW was actively seeking connection at the end of 2025, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Only 13% of capacity that asked to connect from 2000 to 2020 had reached commercial operations by the end of 2025.

What is an interconnection queue?

It is the list of proposed power plants and batteries waiting for the grid operator to study what upgrades are needed before they can connect, and who pays for them.

How long does it take to go from queue to operating?

For projects built in 2025, the median time from interconnection request to commercial operation was over 5 years in the regions with data, according to Berkeley Lab.

Which part of the queue is closest to being built?

549 GW already had a draft or executed interconnection agreement at the end of 2025 but had not yet reached commercial operations, including 256 GW of solar, 161 GW of storage, 76 GW of wind and 45 GW of gas.

Sources