The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) advised grid operators on Thursday to rapid-track interconnection requests from data centers and other large electricity users.
Under the orders, six huge grid operators have to demonstrate that data centers are “able to link to the transmission system in a well time and orderly manner.” Data facilities will be liable for paying the costs of the interconnection. Commissioners approved the orders unanimously.
FERC also give an opening to grid tech startups, directing grid operators to consider “optional transmission technologies.” The commission didn’t call precise technologies, however the directive could include things like solid-state transformers or superconducting transmission lines.
Grid operators now have 30 days to submit a file detailing how much generating capacity they ought to spare, if any. They also have 60 days to “defend or revise” electricity rates within their regions. FERC also directed grid operators to be more accommodating to behind-the-meter power for data centers.
While FERC’s directives gave data centers a fast lane to link, they did not cope with the shortage of generating ability.
Grid connections have been gradual to materialize in part due to the new power plant are also having troubles connecting. At the end of 2023, grid connection requests for power plants exceeded the total capacity of the existing power plant fleet, that means the line to get at the grid was longer than the grid itself ought to theoretically serve.
Against this backdrop, electricity demand from data centers is predicted to nearly triple by 2035. Grid operators, which had grown acquainted with near-zero require growth over the last two decades, have strained under the load. Some, like PJM, the nation’s biggest grid operator, have descended into something corresponding to chaos, with essential utilities threatening to withdraw.
Tech companies and developers, unable to connect to the grid in a well time manner in lots of places, were turning to on-site, or behind-the-meter, power (that’s usually more costly and complicated) out of desperation.
Still, enough ventures have been able to connect that energy prices have soared in lots of regions. Wholesale electricity rates are up as much as 267% as compared with 5 years ago, as per Bloomberg.
FERC was prodded to take the issue by Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, who in October stated that delays in data centers grid connections had threatened to undermine U.S. Competitiveness in AI. Since then, public sentiment towards AI and data facilities has soured appreciably.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration on Wednesday stated it might pay $765 million to wind developer Invenergy to cancel offshore wind rentals near California, Maine, and New York. The company said it would use the money to build natural gas plants within the Midwest and geothermal initiatives in the West. One of Invenergy’s wind initiatives could have generated as much as 2.4 gigawatts of power— enough, at peak output, to supply around 1.8 million homes.
Altogether, the Trump administration has now spent about $2.6 billion to scuttle offshore wind tendencies.
