Data centers and new power in King County, WA

386 MW of new power is waiting to connect to the grid in King County, WA — 3 active requests. Typical wait: 2.8 years. 5 projects are built, 10 withdrawn. Data as of 14 October 2026.

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Is one near your house?

We have not mapped a large AI data center inside King County itself — but we track the biggest ones nationally, and requests to connect new power here are on the public record.

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The power picture

What is happening with electricity in King County

Every new power plant, battery or big customer has to join a waiting list before it can plug into the grid. This is what that list looks like in King County right now.

386 MW
of new power is waiting to connect
3 projects asked. Not yet approved. Roughly what 308,000 homes use.
33 MW
has actually been built
5 projects switched on so far.
2.8 yrs
typical wait to plug in

Where every request ever filed here ended up

  • Built 24%
  • Still waiting 14%
  • Withdrawn 48%
  • Paused 14%

Most requests in the US are withdrawn — a developer tests a site and moves on. That is normal, not a warning sign for King County.

What kind of power is asking to connect

  • Batteries 100%

By capacity requested. Data as of 14 October 2026.

All the numbers

21 requests ever filed
Pending applications
3
of 21 ever filed
Capacity queued
386 MW
requested, not committed
Already built
33 MW
5 projects connected
Built vs decided
33.3%
10 withdrawn
Median wait
2.8 yr
for applications still pending
Connected capacity
167 MW
indicator, see note

Source: interconnection queues published by BPA, PSE. Parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Data as of 14 October 2026. A queued project is a request, not a commitment.

Outcome of every request filed here

OutcomeProjectsCapacityShare
Built533 MW23.8%
Still waiting3386 MW14.3%
Withdrawn101.2 GW47.6%
Paused3—14.3%

Waiting to connect, by type of power

TypeProjectsCapacity requested
Batteries3386 MW

Key dates for projects here

no dated windows published
QueueWhat closesClosesStanding
FERCFERC large-load show cause — stakeholder comments on RTO responses
Comments on the six RTO/ISO responses to the FPA section 206 show-cause orders of 18 June 2026 (PJM EL26-67, SPP EL26-68, NYISO EL26-69, MISO EL26-70…
No date published yetunconfirmed source
FERCFERC RM26-4 — generic large-load rulemaking
Still at ANOPR stage.
No date published yetconfirmed source
FERCGeorgia PSC - Georgia Power must file large-load contracts 30 days before execution
A standing obligation rather than a dated one: large-load contracts must be filed with the commission at least 30 days before they are executed.
No date published yetconfirmed source

A date marked confirmed was checked by a person against the authority's own tariff, order or form page. Anything else is listed so you know it exists, with a link so you can check it yourself. Full calendar.

The biggest projects on file

top 15 by size
ProjectTypeCapacityStatusFiledQueue
Enron Power MarketingNatural gas300 MWwithdrawn2001-11BPA
Cedar Hills Energy LLCNatural gas300 MWwithdrawn2001-05BPA
99Batteries250 MWsuspended2021-04PSE
101Batteries200 MWsuspended2021-04PSE
138Batteries175 MWwithdrawn2023-05PSE
G1014Batteries156 MWactive2023-11BPA
136Batteries150 MWwithdrawn2022-10PSE
139Batteries130 MWactive2023-12PSE
121Batteries125 MWsuspended2021-08PSE
143Batteries100 MWwithdrawn2024-04PSE
148Batteries100 MWactive2024-04PSE
76Batteries100 MWwithdrawn2019-09PSE
3Other27 MWwithdrawn2005-05PSE
27Hydro10 MWwithdrawn2010-08PSE
31Hydro8 MWcompleted2011-02PSE

Big new power users asking to connect

4 on record

Requests to connect large new customers — data centers, factories, electrification — rather than power plants.

RequestCapacityStatusQueueStated use
Grand Ridge Substation25 MWactiveBPAnot stated
Bridgeport I5 Commercial/Industrial Project21 MWenergizedBPAnot stated
Mt. Si—withdrawnBPAnot stated
Novelty Substation—withdrawnBPAnot stated

Most of these filings do not say what the power is for. “Not stated” is the filing's silence, not ours.

How King County compares

#713 in the US · #23 in WA

King County ranks #713 of 1,607 US counties by power waiting to connect, and #23 of 30 in Washington.

CountyWaitingCapacity queued
Benton County2010.9 GW
Yakima County146.5 GW
Klickitat County236.2 GW
Douglas County83.6 GW
Grant County123.5 GW
Lincoln County92.0 GW
Lewis County41.6 GW
Spokane County11973 MW

Common questions about power in King County

How long does it take to get power for a data center in King County, WA?

The median wait for a project still in the interconnection queue in King County is 2.8 years. Across the US, most large loads are quoted three to seven years depending on the market and whether network upgrades are needed. 5 projects in King County have reached energization and 10 were withdrawn, so the withdrawal rate here is a better guide to risk than any single quoted timeline.

How much capacity is available in King County, WA?

386 MW is currently requested across 3 active interconnection requests, and 33 MW has actually been built. A queued megawatt is a request, not deliverable capacity — most queued projects are never built. For deliverable offtake capacity at a specific substation you need a utility study, not a queue.

Is King County, WA a good site for a data center?

This page gives you the power half of that answer: what is queued, what has been energized, how long the wait runs, and which large load interconnection requests are already recorded nearby. The other half — the state policy position, moratoriums and large load tariffs — is on our Washington policy page.

Where does the data on this page come from?

The interconnection queue published by the transmission providers serving King County — BPA, PSE — parsed and normalised by Watt Street. Every figure carries the date it was true. Data as of 14 October 2026.

Go deeper on King County

The interactive map plots every one of these applications, and a generated county report puts them in a sourced PDF with the date each figure was true on every page.

Open King County on the map County reports All of Washington