Data centres and electric vehicles are expected to ramp up US power demand by about 300 terawatt-hours (TWh), equivalent to the electricity consumed annually by Turkey, by the end of the decade, according to consultancy Rystad Energy.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
The country’s rising power load could stress the US electrical grid, which has become increasingly vulnerable to shortfalls.
Rystad expects, however, solar capacity to increase by 237 gigawatts (GW) between 2023 and 2030 and wind capacity to grow by 78 GW, which the firm said should be enough to meet increased US power demand from data centres and EVs.
CONTEXT
US electricity demand had been flat at around 4,000 terawatt-hours since around 2010, Rystad said.
Now electricity demand is accelerating from the rapid build-out of data centers needed to develop generative artificial intelligence and from government and corporate climate pledges that hinge on…
