AI Sector Faces Power Crunch as Bitcoin Miners Hold Rare Permitted Sites

Permitted power capacity at bitcoin (BTC) mining sites has become among the most scarce resources in the US. With 151 data center restrictions still in place, AI developers may wait years before they can connect anywhere new.

CoinShares identified at least 225 data center moratoriums or restrictions in its Q2 mining report. This regulatory clampdown transforms existing energized capacity into a highly valuable commodity.

States Tighten Rules on New Power Connections

These restrictions cover 30 states, based on ElectricChoice data cited in the CoinShares report. Maine prohibited any new data center construction outright starting in April.

CoinShares highlighted New York as the most notable case. The state suspended environmental permits for facilities of 50 megawatts (MW) or more on July 14. Governor Kathy Hochul’s first statewide permit freeze lasts for one year.

County-level restrictions have also expanded across Ohio, Michigan, Georgia, and Indiana. More than one-third of counties in those states have taken steps to curb development, the report stated.

Pennsylvania introduced stricter review procedures for large-scale projects, and Texas paused new grid connections while conducting an audit.

New York exempted permits already deemed complete, a practice seen in other states as well. An approval that is already finalized has become something a newcomer cannot obtain.

Bitcoin Miners Hold a Unique, Hard-to-Replicate Asset

The backlog behind these rules presents an even bigger challenge. The US interconnection queue totals roughly 2,600GW, nearly double the country’s installed capacity.

For projects completed in 2025, the median wait from request to operation exceeded five years, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory research.

Texas illustrates the pressure well. ERCOT’s own large-load queue data showed data centers accounting for 87% of 410 GW. In the PJM market, projects entering service in 2025 took over seven years from request to operation.

“The practical consequence is that an energised site cannot be recreated within any commercially relevant timeframe, regardless of capital available,” CoinShares added.

Available space has also become scarcer. CBRE reported primary market vacancy at a record low of 1.4% at the end of 2025, even as supply grew by 36%, with Northern Virginia vacancy dropping to 0.3% by the first quarter of 2026.

In that context, a $3.5 billion acquisition of three leased Northern Virginia AI facilities set a benchmark near $27 million per MW. By contrast, listed miners with energized but unleased capacity trade below $3 million per MW in some cases.

The two figures are not directly comparable. One represents facilities with signed leases, while the other reflects how the market prices capacity without any leases attached.

Conversion carries a significant cost. Retrofitting mining infrastructure to AI-grade standards is estimated at $8 million to $15 million per MW, compared with $700,000 to $1 million to build it for mining.

“The direction of travel is clear: regulation and grid congestion have inverted the historic discount applied to mining sites, converting what was once viewed as stranded, low grade infrastructure into some of the scarcest permitted power capacity in the US,” the report mentioned.

Meanwhile, the federal government has resisted these restrictions. President Donald Trump warned that towns rejecting the facilities will fall behind and become poorer, while Republicans worry about a midterm backlash over the buildout.

Operators who can finance conversions and secure tenants are therefore positioned to capture most of that premium. Grid access is merely the entry requirement, not the entire business.