Full Title: Datacenters Amplify Grid Congestion Challenges as Renewable Curtailment Rises
Author(s): Adam Wilson and Tony Lenoir
Publisher(s): S&P Global
Publication Date: September 6, 2024
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Description (excerpt):
With renewable energy developers deploying record amounts of solar and wind capacity in the US due to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, all eyes are now turning to grid adequacy, transmission bottlenecks and rising curtailment levels.
Fast-steepening projections for datacenter energy demand — now expected to top 760.7 TWh annually by 2029, up from an estimated 371.6 TWh in 2024 — are magnifying these issues, particularly in geographies expected to experience significant datacenter IT capacity expansions, notably Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the US southeast, where relatively short mileages of transmission lines are currently planned.
Is the rising curtailment presenting a risk or opportunity? Can transmission and distribution investment keep pace with datacenter growth?