Driven due to data centers as well as transportation electrification, the US electricity demand will surge 2% per year and 50% by 2050, as per a study that was published on April 7 by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA).
Enhancement when it comes to energy efficiency will mute some probable demand gains by leaving the electrical manufacturing groups forecast somewhere in the middle as compared to the other recent studies that have been conducted.
Debra Phillips, the president and CEO of NEMA, said in a discussion of the report on April 4.
The evaluation, which was completed for NEMA by PA Consulting, expects a growth of 300% in the data center energy consumption in the next 10 years as well as a 9000% projected growth when it comes to e-mobility power consumption till 2050.
It is worth noting that the electric vehicle rollout curve has actually gone on to flatten recently; however, one still believes that the promise is there for the consumers, said Phillips, pointing to the advancements in battery technology, which is establishing a greater range and also improving costs.
The fact is that electricity demand, which is anticipated in the next 25 years, is fairly massive, says Phillips, adding that the grid was not really designed so as to meet the growth at this rate, and hence they are going to have to get very creative when it comes to the technology as well as policy solutions, which are indeed going to help them meet the growing demand.
When it comes to the policy front, the report from NEMA calls for –
- Permitting and sitting reform such as generation, distribution, and transmission, as well as critical mineral development, regional electric transmission, and also adoption when it comes to enhancing technologies.
- Tax certainty surrounding incentives when it comes to grid technologies as well as domestic manufacturing of critical grid infrastructure, along with incentives that help utilities to make prominent smart grid resiliency investments and also distributed energy.
- And an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to energy sources such as small modular reactors, natural gas, and also geothermal.
When confronted with the unprecedented growth in terms of energy consumption and also the challenges posed by the aging grid, utility operators will need cutting-edge solutions that elevate the resilience as well as the dependability of the grid, said executive vice president and lead business manager at ABB’s US electrification business, Michael Plaster.
The fact is that energy storage is going to be the key- the report from NEMA anticipates that over the next 15 years, the amount of storage that will be connected to the US electricity grid will surge by 1100%.
The EV and data center growth would mean that the US electricity consumption changes will be distinct by region, said NEMA. As per the group, the Mid-Atlantic, along with Texas, will witness the largest data center demand all across until 2035, whereas the Northeast and West are going to experience the largest US electricity demand growth coming from the EVs between 2035 and 2050.
