Data centers don't just need power — they need cheap power. And the geography of electricity pricing is reshaping where AI infrastructure gets built.

For a 100-megawatt facility running 24/7, each cent per kilowatt-hour represents roughly $8.7 million in annual operating cost. A 5-cent differential means $43 million per year — nearly a billion dollars over a 20-year horizon.

Power pricing is creating durable geographic advantages that no amount of tax credits can offset. Capital follows the electrons.]]>

You can buy land. You can order GPUs. You can raise capital. But you cannot buy a faster grid connection. Interconnection is the binding constraint on AI infrastructure.

In PJM — the grid operator for the Mid-Atlantic — the interconnection queue now exceeds 2,500 projects totaling over 250 gigawatts. The average wait time has stretched beyond 4 years. Developers who secured interconnection agreements 3-5 years ago now hold strategic assets.

Capital is repricing assets based on interconnection status, not just location or capacity. The race for AI compute is increasingly a race for queue position.]]>

Hyperscalers and AI startups operate in the same industry but play entirely different games. The difference is infrastructure.

Hyperscalers sign 10-15 year power purchase agreements, coordinate grid interconnection at utility scale, deploy liquid cooling systems, and plan 5-10 years ahead. Microsoft has nuclear agreements. Google invests in geothermal. Amazon backs utility-scale renewables.

Startups rent the result. Hyperscalers own the moat. In AI infrastructure, scale isn't an advantage — it's the only advantage.]]>