Publication · Flexible Data Centers: A Faster, More Affordable Path to Power
December 2025
New research from Camus, encoord, and Princeton ZERO Lab shows how flexible grid connections and bring-your-own capacity (BYOC) can accelerate data center interconnection by 3–5 years while maintaining reliability and protecting ratepayers.
Overview
Data centers across the United States face 3–7-year delays connecting to the electric grid—far longer than the construction timeline for new facilities. This white paper presents a practical solution. Using utility transmission data, system-level capacity expansion modeling, and site-level flexibility optimization, the study demonstrates how large data centers can reach full power in roughly two years by combining flexible grid connections with BYOC procurement.
The analysis evaluates six real candidate sites and shows that data centers can operate with >99 percent grid availability, dispatch on-site flexibility only 40–70 hours per year, and nearly eliminate cost shifts to other electricity customers.
