Utilities and grid operators are warning that the reliability of the power system could suffer as demand from data data centers climbs.
Data centers in the U.S. could consume as much electricity by 2030 as some entire industrialized economies.
The computer warehouses that power the Internet and increasingly AI could require up to 400 terawatt hours of electricity by 2030, according to an August report from Mizuho Securities.Data center developers are knocking at the door of the nation's utilities at the same time many of these power companies are retiring coal plants as part of the transition away from fossil fuels.
About 38 gigawatts of renewable energy have been approved for connection and another 72 gigawatts are coming in the first quarter of 2025, Buehler said, but the projects are not being built quickly enough due the challenges developers are facing on the ground. That level of demand is equivalent to more than 40% of the peak electric load of 35 gigawatts across AEP's entire system at the end of last year, according to Fowke. AEP serves 5.6 million customers in 11 states in the Midwest and South.
The cost of building new infrastructure to meet the demand is expected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars, Fowke said.
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