Full Title: How Rising Electricity Demand Can Support Liftoff of Clean Energy Solutions
Author(s): U.S. Department of Energy
Publisher(s): U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date: August 26, 2024
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
As outlined in DOE’s Clean Energy Resources to Meet Data Center Electricity Demand, the United States is returning to a period of rapid electricity demand growth. Electricity demand is expected to grow ~15-20% in the next decade and could double by 2050 to meet net-zero emissions targets – driven by economic development (manufacturing and industrial growth, data center expansion) and beneficial electrification (transport, building, industrial). This level of growth is comparable to historical U.S. demand growth rates that grew rapidly through the mid-2000s. The Department of Energy (DOE) has been anticipating and planning for increasing electricity demand as part of the overall strategy to achieve net-zero emissions targets.
Investing across each segment of the power system – from bulk power generation and storage through the transmission and distribution delivery system and to distributed resources and end-user efficiency – is critical to comprehensively support demand growth. DOE’s 2024 Future of Resource Adequacy report further outlines the portfolio of technology solutions available and necessary enablers (e.g., modernizing interconnection processes, evolving grid market frameworks) to meet electricity demand needs while maintaining a reliable, affordable, and secure grid.