Why Peak Demand, Not Average kWh, Will Kill Data Center Projects

Rene Grywnow’s 5-Minute Business Punch · Oct 15, 2026 · 5m

Part I argued flexibility is the new front door to a connection. Part II names the number underneath it: a campus can average 40% of its reserved load, look excellent on efficiency, and still be unconnectable, because the gate is peak MW, not average kWh.

Average kWh feeds the PUE narrative, the carbon inventory, the annual report. Peak MW feeds the interconnection application, the transformer order, the capacity charge, the neighbor’s reliability case, and only that audience decides whether the campus exists. A campus averaging 40% still occupies 100% of its reservation in the planner’s…