Demand for power is soaring, creating a new energy crisis for the United States – one that could make the climate crisis even worse.
The Tennessee Valley Authority, meanwhile, is another hotspot for data centers, which have driven 65% of the load growth since 2019, the public power provider said. The TVA has contracts with additional centers not yet built that will increase the need for electricity by 40% to 50%. The quasi-public utility has proposed or is building eight new natural gas plants to fill the demand.
“We see as a huge threat – we are at a moment where we need to be phasing out fossil fuels and not locking it in decades longer,” said Gudrun Thompson, energy program leader for the Southern Environmental Law Center.Utilities say they can’t meet the soaring growth with wind, solar and other renewable energy, but a large group of businesses including Google and Microsoft beg to differ. The 400-member Clean Energy Buyers Association said fossil fuels were not aligned with its goals.