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Politico
17-07-2025
- Business
- Politico
States rush to protect grid as AI booms
States and grid operators are scrambling to craft rules to keep the data center boom from outstripping the power supply. The moves — from Texas to Ohio — underscore concerns across the political spectrum that a surge in power-hungry facilities supporting artificial intelligence could increase electricity prices and raise the risk of blackouts. Lawmakers and regulators hope to protect the electric grid without scaring away an industry pouring billions of dollars into new projects (case in point: the $92 billion in investments that President Donald Trump announced this week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania). Don't mess with our grid: Texas is taking one of the biggest leaps. State lawmakers passed a law this year that allows grid operators to order data centers to cut their electricity use or switch to backup power when supplies are short. Developers will also need to pay a fee before connecting to the grid. The rules could shake up one of the nation's largest data center markets, but so far, they don't appear to have diminished industry interest. Dan Diorio, vice president of state policy for the Data Center Coalition, said the industry is in touch with regulators in Texas and beyond to strike the right balance. 'What you don't want to do is ultimately create something that ends up imposing a one size fits all solution, or an inflexible solution,' Diorio said. Making room in the pool: Southwest Power Pool, the grid covering parts of 14 central states, also debuted a policy this month to help data centers plug in faster — if they agree to limit power demand when the grid is stressed or bring their own generation. Casey Cathey, SPP's vice president of engineering, told me the proposal balances tech companies' desire to move fast with SPP's need for flexibility. 'We have to allow our members and the marketplace to attract business and bring on new loads, but we also have to do everything we can do to meet the needs of the entire grid,' Cathey said. The proposal came together in just months and could be implemented this year, reflecting the 'urgent need,' he added. Just last week, Ohio regulators approved a tariff that will require data centers in the AEP Ohio territory to shoulder more of the costs of connecting to the grid, rather than spreading them out to ratepayers. Oregon and Maryland lawmakers also recently passed legislation creating a new tariff category for large loads — and other states are weighing similar policies. Not all states have been successful in setting up guardrails for AI energy use. Look to Virginia and Georgia, two massive data center markets where bills that would regulate such facilities stalled out. Bob Sherrier, an Atlanta-based attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, said it's vital the Georgia bills get reconsidered. 'These are big projects with real impacts on Georgians, and we need safeguards to protect them,' Sherrier said. 'The sooner we get them in place, the better.' It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Jason Plautz. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to jplautz@ Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: Isa Domínguez breaks down the energy credentials of White House adviser David LaCerte, whom Trump is nominating for a post on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Power Centers There will be gasThe place that started Texas' oil boom is now riding the natural gas storage wave as the fuel's demand increases, Shelby Webb reports from Beaumont, Texas, home of the Spindletop salt dome. It's a good thing, too: The U.S. could face a shortage of places to store gas because of demands from liquefied natural gas exports and power-hungry data centers. Gas production rose by an average of 4.7 percent per year from 2013 to 2023, according to the American Gas Association, while storage grew by just 0.1 percent around the same time. 'We're getting really close to a timing mismatch risk where you've got LNG exports that are going to be in service and operating before new storage sites are going to be in service,' Jason Feit, an adviser to energy data provider Enverus, told Shelby. The climate fund that won't dieThe future of a $27 billion green lending program in the Democrats' 2022 climate law is playing out in the courts after Trump's megalaw rescinded uncommitted funds, Jean Chemnick writes. Nearly all of the money in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund has been obligated, according to the nonprofit Congressional Budget Office. But the Trump administration has been unwilling to accept that math. And that has sparked a controversy that the courts will ultimately resolve. Before Trump took office, EPA had signed contracts with 68 states, cities and nonprofits to expand green lending initiatives and bring solar power and other clean technology to low-income communities. Justice Department attorneys have argued that the government should be able to reclaim $17 billion still left in the accounts of awardees. For your signature, Mr. BurgumInterior Secretary Doug Burgum now must sign off on all wind and solar projects seeking approval on federal lands, Josh Siegel and Zack Colman write. The step was outlined in a memo obtained by POLITICO written by Gregory Wischer, Interior's deputy chief of staff for policy. It states that 'all decisions, actions, consultations, and other undertakings — including but not limited to the following — related to wind and solar energy facilities' must pass through Burgum. The move is the latest blow for wind and solar, which have long been in Trump's crosshairs. In Other News Jolt for natural gas: Executives from pipeline giant Kinder Morgan expect global markets to drive the growth of U.S. natural gas demand. Deal or no deal? An administrative law judge on Tuesday recommended that state regulators reject the asset manager BlackRock's bid to buy Minnesota Power. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. EPA is offering employees another round of incentives to resign or retire early in science and enforcement offices and staff in regional offices, according to an email sent to staff Thursday. A Clean Air Act permitting programs will be overhauled to make it easier for electricity producers to meet demand from AI data centers, Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an op-ed published Thursday. EPA has escalated its investigation of staffers who publicly criticized Trump policies. Trump is stumping for a new Coke made with cane sugar. That puts two big Midwest crops — corn and sugar beets — on the sidelines while elevating sugar cane grown in environmentally sensitive areas of Florida. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.
E&E News
06-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
US grid operator leverages AI to speed power plant connections
The grid operator for the Great Plains region on Thursday announced an agreement with Japanese conglomerate Hitachi that aims to use artificial intelligence to speed up the rate at which new power projects can come online. The Southwest Power Pool, which runs the high-voltage grid across parts of 14 states from Texas to the Canadian border, aims to slash the time it takes to connect new power projects to by as much as 80 percent. Like other regions of the country, SPP is grappling with convergence of trends that's putting pressure on the power industry. Aging fossil fuel plants are being retired at a faster rate than new renewable and natural-gas-fired projects can come online. And demand is surging because of new manufacturing plants, data centers and electrification of cars and space heating and extreme weather is showing up more frequently. Advertisement Nationally, data centers are projected to consume as much as 12 percent of the nation's electricity by 2028 — almost triple the share a couple years ago, according to the Energy Department. SPP said without action, its reserve margins — a buffer to guard against outages when power plants trip offline — could drop to 5 percent in 2029 from 24 percent in 2023, raising the possibility of power shortages during emergencies.
National Post
05-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
Southwest Power Pool (SPP) Partners with Hitachi to Develop Advanced AI Solution for Critical Power Transmission Reliability and Flexibility Challenges
Article content End-to-end use of industrial AI and advanced computing infrastructure to help significantly speed up safe integration and use of additional energy sources supporting central U.S. power grids. Article content Initial partnership objectives are to reduce generator interconnection analysis times by 80% while facilitating more informed decision-making. Objective to be achieved via advanced AI solutions from Hitachi, powered by NVIDIA's accelerated computing platform. Integrated solution comprised of multiple Hitachi capabilities including an AI-based power simulation algorithm, Hitachi-iQ-accelerated calculations, augmented simulation modelling, predictive analytics, as well as design and engineering services. Wide-ranging impacts to address imminent U.S. energy infrastructure needs by increasing planning processes' speed and efficiency; enabling SPP to better resolve energy capacity shortages, increase grid reliability, and improve emergency response capabilities. Subsequent partnership objectives to address alternative energy integration challenges and power transmission constraints. Article content SANTA CLARA, Calif. & LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501, 'Hitachi') and Southwest Power Pool, Inc. (SPP) today announced a strategic partnership to solve critical and imminent problems slowing the modernization of U.S. energy infrastructure. The partnership will produce an integrated AI-based solution that accelerates generator interconnection (GI) by reducing study analysis times by 80% while also informing faster, higher-quality decision-making by GI customers. This will markedly improve SPP's ability to facilitate the addition of its 14-state region's generating capacity to keep pace with increasing demand for electricity. Article content U.S. energy demands are rising by 2 to 3 percent annually *1, driven by data center growth, expanding manufacturing, and electrification. Data centers alone are projected to consume up to 12 percent *2 of U.S. electricity by 2028, versus 4.4 percent in 2023. Such trends drive an alarming supply and demand gap as generating capacity margins in the SPP footprint could decline from 24 percent in 2020 to just 5 percent in 2029 unless an intervention occurs. Article content That intervention starts with end-to-end technical innovation, first at the point of generator interconnection. Currently, the U.S. generates 1.28 terawatts of power *3. More than twice that generated amount waits in a queue as unusable backlog caused by today's grid interconnect process. The long wait times are due to exhaustive, time-consuming analysis and simulation studies required to ensure that new energy source introductions don't compromise existing grid reliability, stability, or performance. Article content To address this gap, the three organizations will combine their industry and technical expertise. The partnership draws on multiple Hitachi competencies for a complete solution: Method's design services; GlobalLogic's software engineering services; Hitachi Energy's energy portfolio management asset modeling solutions; Hitachi R&D's AI-based energy grid algorithm; and Hitachi Vantara's integrated storage and compute platform Hitachi iQ, built on NVIDIA accelerated computing, networking, and AI software. Article content As the regional transmission organization (RTO) framing the project, SPP will guide the integration of these technical solutions and services, leveraging its deep expertise in energy grid optimization. As a reliability coordinator prioritizing operational and customer experience improvements, SPP's input will also ensure the project outcomes align with industry-wide requirements and regulations. 'Our nation's demand for electricity has risen sharply in recent years following a long period of slow growth. Our industry has struggled to keep up with this sudden and significant shift,' said SPP President and CEO Lanny Nickell. 'There are a lot of would-be power producers out there waiting to connect to the grid, but yesterday's systems and technology haven't been sufficient to enable us to bring incremental capacity online fast enough. It's time to fix that, and SPP is proud to work with Hitachi and NVIDIA, two AI industry leaders who have the means to help realize a vision of a better energy future for our nation.' Article content The integrated solution is an industrial AI system differentiated by its advanced proprietary AI algorithms and high performance enabled by Hitachi iQ's enterprise AI solution stack which sit at its core. Ultimately, dynamic AI-driven technologies will be applied to various study areas, such as: Article content The partnership with Hitachi and NVIDIA runs parallel to other improvements underway at SPP, including a from-the-ground-up reimagining of its transmission planning processes to align them with current and future industry needs. Together, these technological and process innovations are expected to set high-water marks in the electricity industry for generator interconnection, mid- and long-term planning, long-term forecast accuracy, analysis and deployment of additional grid-enhancing technologies, and more. Article content 'This initiative is about reimagining the electricity production and distribution process through the lens of modern AI technology,' said Frank Antonysamy, Chief Growth Officer, Hitachi Digital. 'Real-time data access is needed to create truly realistic scenarios caused by new generator introductions. The AI solution we're all developing will provide that data, among other advantages. SPP can then make significantly quicker, better-informed decisions that will increase overall ROI while better serving the nation's population with accessible power. We're proud to be a part of this important three-way collaboration addressing such a crucial problem.' Article content 'Interconnection process acceleration is critical to meet the unprecedented demand on our grid,' said Marc Spieler, Senior Managing Director of the Global Energy Industry at NVIDIA. 'Using advanced NVIDIA accelerated computing and AI, Hitachi and SPP are helping speed interconnection studies to bring essential infrastructure online faster.' Article content The project's phase one milestones are expected to be completed by winter 2025/26. They include initial systems acceleration, data management processes optimization, and the introduction of AI-augmented simulation modeling among other goals. Article content *1: *2: *3: About SPP Southwest Power Pool, Inc. ( is a regional transmission organization: a not-for-profit corporation mandated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to ensure reliable supplies of power, adequate transmission infrastructure and competitive wholesale electricity prices on behalf of its members in 14 states. SPP ensures electric reliability across a region spanning parts of the central and western U.S., provides energy services on a contract basis to customers in both the Eastern and Western Interconnections, and is expanding its RTO and developing a day-ahead energy market in the west. The company's headquarters are in Little Rock, Arkansas. Article content About Hitachi, Ltd. Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Media Contacts Article content Article content Heather Ailara Article content Article content PR Manager Article content Article content Hitachi Digital (NA and EU) Article content Article content +1-973-567-6040 Article content Article content heather@ Article content Article content
E&E News
05-06-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Storms, AI demand and policy failures are upending US grid
Ensuring the nation's power grids can reliably deliver electricity is clashing with the tech industry's voracious appetite for energy — pushing the risks of power outages to new highs, executives of regional power markets told federal regulators Wednesday. Grid rules developed during periods of relatively slow growth aren't equipped for the demands of Silicon Valley's investment in artificial intelligence, extreme weather shocks, and deep national and state political divisions over energy and climate policy, grid operators told members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 'AI is going to change our world,' said Manu Asthana, CEO of the PJM Interconnection, grid operator for 67 million customers in all or parts of 13 Eastern states and the District of Columbia. Advertisement 'In our forecast between 2024 and 2030, currently we have a 32-gigawatt increase in demand, of which 30 is from data centers,' Asthana said. 'We need to stabilize market rules and find that intersection between reliability and affordability that works both for consumers and suppliers, and that intersection is getting harder and harder to find.' Lanny Nickell, CEO of the Southwest Power Pool, PJM's counterpart in a band of Great Plains states, said extreme weather threats and the increasing role of weather-dependent wind and solar power put outages at 125 times more likely to happen than eight years ago. 'As if this wasn't challenging enough,' he said, 'we are now projecting our peak demand to be as much as 75 percent higher 10 years from now, and that's largely driven by electrification and data center growth.' Jim Robb, CEO of the North American Electric Reliability Corp., the architect of transmission grid standards, said grid operators need 'much deeper insight' into future electricity supply and demand and the probabilities of extreme storms and heat waves that could push power demand to new peaks. Limited real-time information about the effect that dangerous storms have on gas pipeline deliveries to electric turbines is also an area of concern that has been left unresolved by the broader energy industry. Current industry risk analysis cannot do the job, Robb said in comments filed for a two-day conference at FERC's Washington headquarters. 'This will require stronger modeling of fuel and capacity performance to assess reliability risk,' Robb said. The industry needs to establish an agreed-upon profile of the likely risks operators face, like the 'design basis' accident scenarios that nuclear power plant operators are required to defend against. Susan Bruce, counsel to a group of industrial power customers, said her coalition shares 'serious concerns' about regional grid reliability and the ability to add enough new electric generation to keep pace with demand, particularly from 'unprecedented but undefined' growth of data center and cryptocurrency mining operations. 'There is a lack of trust that even very high prices' in grid markets 'can move the needle' to get new nonrenewable generation in service, she said in remarks filed with the commission. 'New rules of the road are necessary,' she said. 'States leaning on other states' Sharp divisions at national and state levels over climate policies is apparent inside PJM, said FERC Chair Mark Christie. Christie told PJM's Asthana, 'You've got 13 states plus the District, you've got widely divergent policies from New Jersey to West Virginia, from Indiana to Maryland. 'It puts you in an impossible position,' Christie continued. 'How can you guys balance these incredibly divergent political goals and try to run a market … that fits the economic textbooks?' One answer, broached by Christie and several state regulators at the conference, was to push more responsibility on states to meet grid reliability challenges. Panelists at the FERC conference debated whether electricity reliability and affordability would be helped if states ordered utilities to purchase part of the generation they expect to need in the future, rather than relying on PJM's competitive energy markets to deliver supply. 'How do we make it work without the states having a much larger role?' Christie asked. 'We acknowledge that the states need a role because we are responsible for resource adequacy,' said Jacob Finkel, deputy secretary for policy for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), who has led a challenge to PJM policies by Democratic governors in its region. 'We have a responsibility to our ratepayers for affordability.' 'It's easy to throw darts at PJM,' said Kelsey Bagot, a member of the Virginia State Corp. Commission. 'To the extent we want a larger role in the process, we have to demonstrate that as a group of states with very different regulatory structures and very different goals and policies, that we can actually function as a collaborative body and make decisions. 'I think that challenge has been handed to us,' Bagot said. Dennis Deters, a member of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, sided with Bagot, a fellow red-state regulator. 'We are reactive,' he said. 'Too many states are relying on [PJM] to provide resource adequacy. 'I do shudder to think of injecting more politics into an engineering effort,' he added. Michael Richard, a member of the Maryland Public Service Commission, said the divisions were over principle rather than politics. 'You know, Maryland policymakers, we believe the science on climate change.' Christie several times pressed panelists for opinions on whether states should be held accountable if their utilities aren't building enough generation to meet reliability needs, which, in his calculation, means generation that can operate around the clock, not renewables. 'If you don't build enough, maybe you need to pay a penalty. Clearly, there are states leaning on other states,' he said. 'The states have the ability to do a lot of direct contracting and direct support for their policies,' PJM's Asthana said. 'We have seen the state of New Jersey, for example, directly support offshore wind. We have supported them in that pursuit, and that can work.' Gordon van Welie, president of ISO New England, said that states can lose control. 'We know from experience that it's very hard building fossil resources in New England,' he said. A key part of the region's answer was investment in offshore wind. Now the Trump administration has thrown up barriers to that option, he added. 'So that puts us in a very difficult place as we enter 2030,' he said. 'Something's got to give in that equation. Otherwise we have trouble.'
E&E News
30-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Great Plains grid operator asks to fast-track power plants
Another U.S. regional grid operator is proposing a process to fast-track connection agreements for power plants, a process aimed at heading off a looming shortage of generating capacity by the end of the decade. Southwest Power Pool, which spans the wind-soaked corridor from Texas to the Canadian border, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week to approve its Expedited Resource Adequacy Study process to take effect in late July. Little Rock, Arkansas-based SPP is the latest grid operator to accelerate power plant additions. FERC earlier this year approved a request from PJM Interconnection to do the same. More recently, FERC rejected a proposal from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which plans to re-file a revised version next month. Advertisement The rationale for the requests by regional transmission operators is largely the same: legacy fossil fuel power plants are being shuttered and new renewable and natural gas-fired replacements are stuck in a traffic jam of projects waiting on studies for approval to plug into the bulk power grid.
