In 2024, China added 429 gigawatts of new power capacity. The US added 51 gigawatts. That’s an 8.4x difference—and it’s reshaping the AI infrastructure race.
While American data centers wait 8+ years in grid interconnection queues, China is building power infrastructure at unprecedented speed. The implications for AI development are significant.
The US faces a complex web of bottlenecks:
Interconnection queues: 8+ years average wait to connect to grid
Transmission lines: 900 miles built last year vs. 5,000 miles needed annually
Transformer shortages: Lead times 3-4x longer than 2020
Gas turbines: 4.5-year delivery time, up from 2 years
“Phantom data centers” compound the problem—developers filing duplicate proposals across multiple utilities, bloating queues with speculative projects.
The structural bottleneck isn’t computing. It’s electrons. And in the race to power AI, infrastructure speed may matter more than chip performance.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
