PJM Interconnection accepted its first three Expedited Interconnection Track projects, totaling more than 2,100 MW and due online in mid-2029, while San Francisco supervisors passed a 45-day citywide data center moratorium on October 6. Approvals now move at two speeds, and sites that pair local permitting support with deliverable power hold a clear advantage.
Key Takeaways
PJM Interconnection accepted its first three Expedited Interconnection Track projects on October 8, totaling more than 2,100 MW and targeting mid-2029 service.
Applicants need at least 250 MW, a commitment from a state siting authority to expedite permitting, and the ability to operate within three years. PJM approves up to 10 requests a year, and the track sunsets at the end of 2027.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a 45-day citywide data center moratorium on October 6, which could extend up to 22 months.
Permitting posture now separates sites that move quickly from sites that stall.
PJM Selects Two Batteries and a Gas Uprate
The Expedited Interconnection Track (EIT) accepted three projects on October 8, as Utility Dive and the American Public Power Association reported. ENGIE IR Holdings submitted two battery storage projects: 860 MW at the Wayne 345 kV site in Crawford, Pennsylvania, and 800 MW at the Galion 345 kV site in Morrow, Ohio. LS Power’s 455 MW uprate at the Hunterstown 500 kV facility in Adams, Pennsylvania, completes the group. All three are scheduled to enter service in mid-2029.
The track exists because supply has tightened. PJM describes little new generation in recent years while data centers push demand forecasts higher, and Utility Dive links the tight supply to a sharp rise in capacity costs that is raising utility bills in some areas.
State Permitting Support Opens the Door
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the EIT in June 2026, and the application window opened July 31. Applicants must offer at least 250 MW of unforced capacity, hold a commitment from a primary siting authority to expedite site permitting, and be able to begin operating within three years. Projects are expected to sign a generation interconnection agreement within 10 months of submission.
PJM will approve up to 10 interconnection requests per calendar year in 2026 and 2027, taking proposals on a rolling basis until each year’s limit is reached. The process sunsets at the end of 2027. The permitting requirement ties the interconnection queue to state and local governance: the fastest path to the grid runs through a siting authority that has already said yes.
San Francisco Pauses Construction for 45 Days
San Francisco shows the opposite end of the same permitting spectrum. The Board of Supervisors passed a citywide data center moratorium on October 6, effective immediately for 45 days, as Mission Local reported and the San Francisco Standard covered. The measure halts construction of new data centers, including a proposed 160,000-square-foot facility at 1215 Michigan St. in Dogpatch, and pauses the planned expansion of the NOVVA data center at 400 Paul Ave. in Bayview from nine to 36 megawatts by 2028.
During the pause, the Planning Department will study effects on water, energy, air quality, land use and surrounding communities. If it finds significant environmental impacts, the moratorium could extend up to 22 months or lead to permanent controls. Supervisor Shamann Walton, who proposed the measure, said: “We need to know what these impacts are.” He added: “Until we know what that is, it needs to stop.” Sources close to Walton say he hopes the pause leads to a permanent ban, and his term ends in January 2027.
The definition is broad. The legislation covers any facility housing computing infrastructure for processing, storing or distributing electronic data, which brings mixed-use and industrial buildings that host computing tenants into scope for diligence.
Reliability Standards Define the Rules for Large Computational Loads
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) announced on October 15 that stakeholders approved a package of standards for computational loads on a final ballot, as POWER reported and Utility Dive covered. The standards apply to AI data centers, crypto mining and other computational loads of at least 50 MW connected at 100 kV or above. The NERC Board of Trustees votes next, and adopted standards then go to FERC. FERC’s July order requires NERC to file initial standards and registration criteria by December 31, 2026.
The rules cover interconnection studies and modeling data, operating instructions from grid operators and protection coordination. NERC cites a July 2024 Eastern Interconnection event in which about 1,500 MW of data center load dropped offline. For sites with large computing tenants, the standards add study and modeling obligations before interconnection, which belongs in lease and development agreements.
Tight Markets Raise the Value of Delivered Power
CBRE’s North American Data Center Trends report for the first half of 2026 shows how scarce deliverable power has become. Vacancy across the eight primary markets stands at 1.4%, and Northern Virginia vacancy fell to 0.2% from 0.7% a year earlier. Developers have 7,481 MW under construction, up 24.8%, and more than 80% of that capacity is preleased.
Stu Dyer, CBRE executive vice president, said: “Power is the deciding factor in Northern Virginia right now.” CBRE expects power constraints and infrastructure bottlenecks to limit how quickly new capacity arrives. Sites with an interconnection path therefore command value that sites with land alone do not.
Large-Load Tariffs Move Cost to the Operator
Utilities increasingly pair new supply with new rate classes. A Microsoft agreement with NiSource, reported by Data Center Dynamics, adds about 1.1 GW to NiSource’s portfolio for a planned northern Indiana campus under a 20-year term, with power starting in 2028. The campus falls under a new large-load rate class in which users fund the generation and infrastructure needed to serve them. NiSource Generation Company holds a 600 MW, 2,400 MWh battery storage tolling agreement with an affiliate of AGP Group, with aggregate payments of about $2.2 billion over the term, according to a NiSource filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Jeff Riles, Microsoft senior director of energy markets, said that “our data centers don’t increase electricity prices for other ratepayers.” The structure answers the same ratepayer concern that drives moratorium debates, and it gives owners a template: a site that funds its own capacity and storage meets a regulator’s affordability test.
Statehouses Take Up Moratorium Proposals
Virginia shows the next phase. Senator Russet Perry introduced Senate Bill 843, which would bar state agencies from approving data center planning applications for three years beginning July 1, 2027, as Data Center Dynamics reported. Perry said: “We cannot keep rubber-stamping new data centers when we can’t even manage the ones already built.” New York, Texas and Oregon have introduced statewide moratorium bills, and Loudoun County is advancing a 12-month pause on legislative approvals.
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners in North Carolina voted 4-2 on September 28 to put a four-month moratorium on its October 26 agenda, per WUNC. Together with the PJM track and the NERC standards, the proposals show approvals and obligations tightening at the same time.
Two Speeds Reshape Site Value
Permitting friction extends beyond data centers. SEIA reports that permitting issues affect an estimated 30% of early-stage solar projects, per its Q3 2026 Solar Market Insight, which places local approval risk alongside interconnection risk for onsite generation.
The two actions mark the range of outcomes for power-intensive projects. PJM rewards sites that bring both a state permitting commitment and a deliverable megawatt count. San Francisco shows that a project without community review can stop for months or longer.
Screen for siting authority support. A parcel with documented state or local backing is more valuable to a generation developer or large-load tenant than a parcel without it.
Map substation adjacency. The first EIT projects sit at 345 kV and 500 kV interconnection points. Land near high-voltage substations carries optionality for storage or generation.
Use the window. The EIT approves only 10 requests a year and sunsets at the end of 2027, so developers with ready sites have a narrow filing period.
Add moratorium risk to diligence. Entitlement reviews for any asset with computing tenants should list pending local moratoria and the definition each ordinance uses.
The valuation effect is direct. Time to power sets rent commencement dates, and every $1,000 of durable annual NOI supports about $12,500 of asset value at an 8% cap rate. A site that reaches power a year sooner starts collecting rent a year sooner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PJM Expedited Interconnection Track?
A temporary process approved by FERC in June 2026 that accepts up to 10 large generation requests a year in 2026 and 2027 from projects of at least 250 MW with state permitting support and a three-year path to operation.
Which projects did PJM accept first?
An 860 MW battery in Crawford, Pennsylvania, an 800 MW battery in Morrow, Ohio, and a 455 MW gas uprate in Adams, Pennsylvania, totaling more than 2,100 MW and targeting mid-2029.
What does the San Francisco moratorium cover?
A 45-day citywide halt on new data center construction passed October 6, 2026, which could extend up to 22 months if the Planning Department finds significant environmental impacts.
When does the PJM track end?
The Expedited Interconnection Track sunsets at the end of 2027.
Sources
https://missionlocal.org/2026/10/sf-supervisors-pass-data-center-moratorium/
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001111711/000119312526423375/d114059d8k.htm
https://seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight-report-q3-2026/
https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/06/data-center-moratorium-san-francisco/
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/engie-ls-power-pjm-expedited-interconnection-eit/832613
The expedited track is a real signal, but the scale gap is worth seeing: those first three projects add up to roughly 2.1 GW, against 374.6 GW of active generation requests across 1,261 projects in PJM's queue, counted as requested maximum output rather than firm capacity. PJM was serving about 88,000 MW of demand this morning on EIA-930 data, so a lane that can deliver 250 MW-plus projects in three years matters far more than its share of the queue suggests. That supports your point that permitting posture is starting to set site value. DC Hub (dchub.cloud), as of 2026-10-21.