The growing demands of data centers are positioning renewables as essential, with wind, solar, and storage offering the most flexible and cost-effective solution to grid instability.
This week, the New York Times reported that current administration’s freezes on projects could drive up power costs if gas infrastructure fails—a strategic move that may force even skeptics to reconsider their stance.
Here are my key takeaways:
- Surging Electricity Demand: U.S. electricity use could jump ~50% by 2040, fueled by data centers and EVs, pushing the grid to its limits.
- Renewables’ Role: Wind, solar, and batteries deploy in 1-2 years—faster than gas plants (2-5 years)—bolstering grid stability and slashing costs in regions like the Southwest and Great Plains. In prime areas, renewables beat gas on price—e.g., Texas solar at <5 cents/kWh—while transmission for distant resources can take 5-15 years and cost over $1 billion.
- Policy and Infrastructure Risks: Gas project delays (3-7 years, $200M-$1B+) raise costs and risks—think Texas 2021, where frozen pipelines triggered billions in losses—versus nimbler, local renewables.
- Transmission Bottlenecks: Per a 2023 New York Times piece, large transmission projects drag on for 5-15 years and cost billions due to permitting and land issues, favoring renewables near demand hubs.
- Gas Delays: New plants take 2-5 years, pipelines add 1-2 more, and costs soar from $100M to $1B+, with events like Texas 2021 showing gas’s fragility.
“This year, wind, solar and batteries are projected to make up 93 percent of new electric capacity added to American grids — with the rest coming from power plants that burn natural gas. In many places, building new wind turbines or installing solar panels are often the cheapest ways to generate additional electrons.”
www.nytimes.com/...
