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Data centers require electricity.
And as we have talked about before, total electricity consumption by US data centers is forecasted to reach somewhere between 6.7 - 12% of total consumption by 2028 (figure from the US Department of Energy). Last year, Goldman Sachs also estimated that data center power demand would grow 160% by 2030.
I kind of wonder if these numbers might be understated — given our current AI bubble — but whatever the case may be, we're going to need a lot more electricity going forward. There's no such thing as a wealthy, low-energy nation.
Given all of this, I'm struggling to understand why the US would move to cancel what would have been the largest solar project in North America. Esmeralda 7, which was to be located on 62,300 acres of federal land to the north-west of Las Vegas, was expected to be a 6.2 gigawatt project — enough to power nearly 2 million homes.
Instead, the Department of the Interior seems to be determined to accelerate fossil fuel projects, and help China maintain its clear dominance in renewables. I guess that makes sense in some world if you think renewal energy projects are a "scam."
Cover photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash
The EU has the following target in place for the sharing of electricity:
The EU has set an interconnection target of at least 15% by 2030 to encourage EU countries to interconnect their installed electricity production capacity. This means that each country should have in place electricity cables that allow at least 15% of the electricity produced on its territory to be transported across its borders to neighbouring countries.
The main reasons to do this is that it is good for renewables and it is good for overall resilience. The UK, for example, has one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world. But if it's having a bad wind year, interconnections allow it to import the electricity it may need -- perhaps from Norway, which is Europe's biggest producer of hydropower.
Here is what that looked like in 2021 (via the FT):
This is an interesting chart from Nathaniel Bullard over at Bloomberg Green. In 1985 (the start of this chart), coal-fired power was responsible for about 38% of global electricity generation. This particular stat hasn't changed all that much since then -- the current figure is around 36% -- but renewables have gone from 0.8% to 13% of global electricity. That is something. Since 2010, renewables are adding about 0.8% market share each year, and presumably this rate will only increase going forward. (Here, renewable power is defined as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and small hydropower.)
Data centers require electricity.
And as we have talked about before, total electricity consumption by US data centers is forecasted to reach somewhere between 6.7 - 12% of total consumption by 2028 (figure from the US Department of Energy). Last year, Goldman Sachs also estimated that data center power demand would grow 160% by 2030.
I kind of wonder if these numbers might be understated — given our current AI bubble — but whatever the case may be, we're going to need a lot more electricity going forward. There's no such thing as a wealthy, low-energy nation.
Given all of this, I'm struggling to understand why the US would move to cancel what would have been the largest solar project in North America. Esmeralda 7, which was to be located on 62,300 acres of federal land to the north-west of Las Vegas, was expected to be a 6.2 gigawatt project — enough to power nearly 2 million homes.
Instead, the Department of the Interior seems to be determined to accelerate fossil fuel projects, and help China maintain its clear dominance in renewables. I guess that makes sense in some world if you think renewal energy projects are a "scam."
Cover photo by American Public Power Association on Unsplash
The EU has the following target in place for the sharing of electricity:
The EU has set an interconnection target of at least 15% by 2030 to encourage EU countries to interconnect their installed electricity production capacity. This means that each country should have in place electricity cables that allow at least 15% of the electricity produced on its territory to be transported across its borders to neighbouring countries.
The main reasons to do this is that it is good for renewables and it is good for overall resilience. The UK, for example, has one of the largest offshore wind markets in the world. But if it's having a bad wind year, interconnections allow it to import the electricity it may need -- perhaps from Norway, which is Europe's biggest producer of hydropower.
Here is what that looked like in 2021 (via the FT):
This is an interesting chart from Nathaniel Bullard over at Bloomberg Green. In 1985 (the start of this chart), coal-fired power was responsible for about 38% of global electricity generation. This particular stat hasn't changed all that much since then -- the current figure is around 36% -- but renewables have gone from 0.8% to 13% of global electricity. That is something. Since 2010, renewables are adding about 0.8% market share each year, and presumably this rate will only increase going forward. (Here, renewable power is defined as wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, and small hydropower.)
Of course, this works really well when there's enough electricity to go around and everyone is cooperating. The question this winter is whether that changes at all.
Chart: Bloomberg Green
Of course, this works really well when there's enough electricity to go around and everyone is cooperating. The question this winter is whether that changes at all.
Chart: Bloomberg Green
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