AI Developers Face Years-Long Wait for New Power Connections as Northern Virginia Deal Sets $27 Million Per MW Benchmark

A $3.5 billion purchase of three leased Northern Virginia AI facilities set a benchmark near $27 million per MW as Bitcoin mining sites became scarce permitted power capacity. According to NS3.AI, CoinShares said energized sites cannot be recreated within any commercially relevant timeframe, regardless of available capital. The US interconnection queue holds roughly 2,600GW, and AI developers are facing years of waiting for new connections. Some listed miners with energized but unleased capacity are trading below $3 million per MW.