Power data centers and clean technology facilities are rapidly proliferating in the United States, but there may not be enough time to find solutions to the shrinking power grid, according to a new report.
According to the Washington Post, several states across the country are currently sounding the alarm over concerns that industrial power is struggling to keep up with demand. In Georgia, projected electricity use over the next decade is expected to surge 17 times over recent levels, reaching record demand. Arizona's largest power company also predicts it will exceed its transmission capacity by the end of 2010 unless major upgrades are made, the newspaper reported.
Additionally, North Virginia and Texas also face power demand challenges. According to the Washington Post, accommodating all the data centers planned and under construction would require the equivalent of several large nuclear power plants in both Texas and North Virginia. (Related article: 'Reality will rob us': Biden opens door for Chinese EVs to flood US, experts say, before moving on to expropriation)
“When you look at the numbers, it's astonishing,” Jason Shaw, chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission, told the show. “You'll be scratching your head wondering how we ended up in this situation. Were our predictions that far off? This has created challenges like we've never seen before.”
Clean energy may seem at odds with the electric grid, but the Biden administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has introduced strict regulations that have significantly shaped the nation's power grid. The EPA previously tried to propose requirements that would require existing coal-fired power plants to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2024. Additionally, new and existing natural gas power plants will be required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Depending on size and use.
However, the EPA recently adjusted its proposal to reduce its scope. This comes as multiple officials have warned President Joe Biden that the heavy-handed regulation has serious substantive and legal flaws. Concerns about the proposed plan called into question regulations on natural gas power plants that mandate expensive technologies such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) and blended hydrogen.
Many are sounding the alarm about the Biden administration's aggressive push to transition the power grid to completely clean energy. Last June, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Mark Christie told the House Energy and Commerce Committee of the possibilities facing the U.S. power grid if the U.S. continues to phase out fossil fuel infrastructure. He talked about some influences.
“I think we are facing very dire, potentially catastrophic consequences in terms of the reliability of the U.S. power grid, and the fundamental reason for that is the lack of power supply. I think it's something we're facing,” Christie said. said.
