Posted on 03/18/2024 6:16:10 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Something unusual is happening in America. Demand for electricity, which has stayed largely flat for two decades, has begun to surge.
Over the past year, electric utilities have nearly doubled their forecasts of how much additional power they’ll need by 2028 as they confront an unexpected explosion in the number of data centers, an abrupt resurgence in manufacturing driven by new federal laws, and millions of electric vehicles being plugged in.
Many power companies were already struggling to keep the lights on, especially during extreme weather, and say the strain on the grid will only increase. Peak demand in the summer is projected to grow by 38,000 megawatts nationwide in the next five years, according to an analysis by the consulting firm Grid Strategies, which is like adding another California to the grid.
“The numbers we’re seeing are pretty crazy,” said Daniel Brooks, vice president for integrated grid and energy systems at the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit organization.
In an ironic twist, the swelling appetite for more electricity, driven not only by electric cars but also by battery and solar factories and other aspects of the clean-energy transition, could also jeopardize the country’s plans to fight climate change.
To meet spiking demand, utilities in states such as Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are proposing to build dozens of power plants over the next 15 years that would burn natural gas. In Kansas, one utility has postponed the retirement of a coal plant to help power a giant electric-car battery factory.
(Excerpt) Read more at seattletimes.com ...
I wonder if it could have anything to do with the literally millions of illegal aliens who have invaded the country in the last 4 years.
It is almost like... everyone is starting to plug in giant electric things that must be charged!
hm.. how strange! I wonder what that could be!
Justifying rolling blackouts in the future.
Completely unexpected!
“Justifying rolling blackouts in the future.”
That is how communists handle things.
These people are idiots beyond idiots they forced everyone to use electric everything and now they are getting upset because people are using electricity. They really don’t want us to have an economy or anything modern these are very very bad people.
Don't forget the scores of illegals crossing the border. They need power too.
Sums up the Left nicely — they have absolutely no sense of “consequences”. The let in millions of illegals, and they push electric cars, and then they act surprised when electricity use goes up. What a mystery this is.
We must decommission all of the electricity hogging government data centers to save the planet.
Maybe we should start calling electric cars “rolling blackouts.”
Well, Duh! The Seattle Times is beginning to gain a firm grasp on the obvious.
That's way too true! If you want real world numbers, the 16K miles we charged our EV at home last year added about 4,900 kWh to our power demand for the year. Call it 400 kWh per month to drive 1,300 per month. Of course, if you have tons of home solar and do your homework on making it work efficiently for you, an EV can be valuable. But most people don't do that.
I have a friend who works for Ga Power. He tells me that Ga Power, despite the new nuclear plants coming online, is forecasting a stressed local grid due to robust industrial growth - especially LARGE DATA CENTERS. New battery plants, car factories, etc etc.
Ga Power is rapidly bringing additional natural gas plant capacity online, even converting older, retired coal-fired plants with non-expired air permits back on line with new natural gas turbines. This has added a new problem of sourcing enough natural gas, in the current gas-unfriendly regulatory environment.
Crazy.
Couldn’t be the result of forcing people to use electric heat, electric stoves, electric water heating, and electric cars now, would it?
But, but I thought a warm climate meant less energy needed for heating.... I'm confused.
I guess the only answer is very small Chinese cars for everyone. Ask O'Biden, he'll tell you. AND EAT YOUR BUGS.!
It’s all those EVs ,LOL
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