American energy demand could be on pace to exceed power supply by the end of the decade, according to Bain, a major consultancy.
Utilities could need to increase their annual power generation by as much as 26% by 2028 to meet surging demand, which the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving with power-hungry data centers that are necessary to sustain AI technologies, according to a new report from Bain. Overall U.S. electricity demand stayed mostly flat since 2000, and utility companies will need to make major adjustments to their business models that figure to raise electricity costs for American consumers.
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“In the U.S. alone, adequately funding the capital investments to serve data center growth over the next decade would require utilities to generate 10% to 19% in additional revenue each year than previously forecast,” Bain wrote in its report. “That could incrementally increase customer bills by 1% annually through 2032, according to our analysis.”
AI data centers account for about 44% of the anticipated growth, while residential demand — which includes electric vehicles (EVs) — drive 27% of the increase, according to Bain’s projections. The rest of the growth will come from manufacturing and commercial electricity use.
Bain joins a growing list of power grid operators and experts to warn that America’s electrical system is coming under strain as demand surges and regulations force the premature retirement of reliable fossil fuel-fired capacity.
Specifically, the Biden-Harris administration finalized regulations in April that will require existing coal plants to use carbon capture and storage (CCS) to control 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 if they want to stay running past 2039, and certain new natural gas plants will also have to cut their emissions by 90% by 2032, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The federal government maintains that the rules will not degrade grid reliability, though power grid experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that they are expecting the opposite if the rules are enforced.
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