Surging demand for data center capacity requires significant and rapid investments in generation and delivery infrastructure, presenting regulators with the challenge of balancing customer affordability, system reliability, and resource sustainability.
Data centers’ share of electricity in the US is poised to at least double from 5% to 10% by 2030.
The rising energy share of US data centers1
Regulators are balancing the three tensions of the energy trilemma, and developers and utilities must align with these priorities to continue to scale.
CRA assigned scores to states based on data suggesting current prioritizations of energy trilemma pillars.
Analysis suggests that state priorities converge along geographical footprints and political leanings. Many regulators express a desire to see solutions to address all priorities.
Scores assigned using data on electricity costs, median incomes, SAIDI/SAIFI metrics, and RPS goals. Total score based on a weighted representation of all factors, with max 3 per priority.
What regulators are saying:
» Affordability is already an issue and data centers are potentially adding strain.
» There is no incentive for utilities to talk to each other about duplicate loads in queues—and that needs to change.
» There is little reason to walk back from decarbonization goals.
Sources: CRA analysis; regulator interviews; NREL SLOPE; C2ES; EIA-861, LBNL
