LBNL Interconnection Queue Data (emp.lbl.gov/queues)
Summary
The 2025 edition of LBNL’s annual “Queued Up” report tracks every US grid interconnection request filed across all Regional Transmission Organizations. As of end-of-year 2024, the active queue totals ~2,290 GW — down ~12% from 2,600 GW in the 2024 edition, largely attributable to FERC Order 2023 forcing accelerated withdrawal of speculative projects. Installed US generating capacity stands at ~1,322 GW. LBNL characterizes the active queue as “nearly twice” installed capacity. Median project timeline from interconnection request to commercial operation for projects completing in 2024 was 55 months (4.6 years); LBNL frames this as “over 4 years” across the 2018–2024 cohort. Completion rates remain structurally low: 19% of projects (13% of capacity) from 2000–2019 cohort reached commercial operation by end of 2024.
Key Points
- Active queue total: ~2,290 GW as of end-2024 (down from ~2,600 GW in 2024 edition; ~12% decrease)
- US installed capacity: ~1,322 GW (up from ~1,279 GW in 2024 edition)
- LBNL framing: “nearly twice” installed capacity
- Active project count: 10,303 projects; ~1,400 GW generation + ~890 GW storage
- Queue decrease driver: FERC Order 2023 accelerated forced withdrawals of speculative and non-viable projects; also ~500 GW new requests submitted in 2024 vs. ~700+ GW withdrawing
- Median IR-to-COD, 2024 cohort: 55 months (4.6 years); LBNL frames as “over 4 years” for 2018–2024 cohort
- Regional variance: CAISO (California) median ~75–94 months (~6–8 years) for recent project cohorts; PJM median ~68 months (~5.7 years) for 2024 cohort
- Completion rate (2000–2019 cohort): 19% of projects, 13% of capacity, reached commercial operation by end of 2024
- Withdrawal rate: 77% of capacity from 2000–2019 cohort withdrew; 10% still active
- 2024 activity: ~700+ GW withdrew; ~500 GW new requests submitted
- Version-drift note: 2024 edition showed 2,600 GW queued vs. 1,279 GW installed; 2025 edition shows 2,290 GW vs. 1,322 GW. Both editions use “roughly twice” / “nearly twice” framing. The decrease reflects FERC Order 2023 cleanup, not reduced demand for interconnection.
Newsletter Angles
- Primary sourcing upgrade: replaces the Latitude Media (2024 edition) secondary citation in the interconnection-queue sections of the AI buildout piece. LBNL is the primary source; Latitude Media summarized the 2024 edition.
- Queue depth argument still holds: “nearly twice installed capacity” framing survives the data revision. The absolute numbers changed; the structural argument (queue is massively oversubscribed) did not.
- Wait-time precision: 55 months for 2024 completions is slightly lower than the 5-year (60-month) figure from the 2024 edition, but LBNL frames it as “over 4 years” — defensible to cite as “four-to-five years” US average with CAISO and PJM regional callouts.
- The FERC Order 2023 angle: the queue decline is not a good-news story about capacity being built faster — it is FERC forcing speculative projects to exit. Projects that exit under duress are not projects that got built.
Entities Mentioned
- FERC — Order 2023 is the regulatory event cited for accelerating project withdrawals and the queue decline
- PJM — largest US RTO by capacity; median ~68 months for 2024 project completions
- CAISO — California ISO; longest median timelines (~75–94 months) for recent cohorts
- MISO — Midcontinent ISO; queue data reported but wait times not separately extracted here
Concepts Mentioned
- Interconnection Queue — core concept this source underpins; all figures update the concept page
- AI Buildout Grid Constraint — queue depth is one of the four interlocking sub-constraints documented here
Quotes
“The active queue totals nearly twice the installed generating capacity of the United States.”
— LBNL framing, Queued Up 2025 Edition
Notes
Version-drift tracking: Two LBNL editions now in the wiki. Prefer the 2025 edition for any article published after December 2025; cite the 2024 edition only when referencing what was publicly known in early 2024. The 2025 edition is authoritative for the May 15 article.
Author note: Joseph Rand is the primary author across multiple Queued Up editions. Full author list includes additional LBNL researchers.
Methodology: LBNL aggregates queue data from all seven US RTOs (PJM, MISO, SPP, CAISO, ISO-NE, NYISO, ERCOT). Queue snapshots are annual; figures reflect end-of-2024 state.