AI Boom Sparks Gas Plant Surge as Clean Energy Advocates Push Back

The AI build-out has triggered the largest-ever construction boom in natural gas-fired power plants, as utilities and governments scramble to meet skyrocketing electricity demand from data centers Source: AP News. Some data centers consume more energy than a mid-size city, and wind and solar cannot be built fast enough to keep up Source: The Next Web.

The Boom

• AI data centers are driving a renaissance for fossil fuels, with aging coal plants also kept alive past retirement dates Source: AP News.
• The Next Web notes that utilities and plant owners are postponing shutdowns due to unglamorous arithmetic: power demand is outpacing renewable buildout.

Legislative Responses

• New York, Michigan, Oregon, and Minnesota have passed or proposed laws to force data centers to meet renewable benchmarks. A bill on Governor Kathy Hochul's desk would require at least 90% renewable energy by 2040 Source: AP News.
• Michigan tied clean energy requirements to a sales tax exemption for hyperscale data centers Source: The Next Web.
• Bob Jenks of the Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board admitted: “That’s a challenging thing to meet with the data centers. It was a challenging thing to meet without the data centers” Source: AP News.

Grid Access Battle

• Clean energy advocates are pushing utilities to allow large power users to build their own clean generation and connect to the grid. Colorado ordered Xcel Energy to create such a program Source: The Next Web.
• Google’s deal with NV Energy in Nevada is seen as a first-of-its-kind example, and similar arrangements are pending in eight states Source: The Next Web.