Adding sufficient resources fast enough to reliably meet the growth will require an array of demand- and supply-side resources as well as stronger transmission interconnection planning.
The U.S. electric system is under more pressure than ever before. In order to meet the challenges of unprecedented growth in electricity demand from data centers, re-shoring and other uses, the U.S. electricity grid will have to expand more than five times faster than in the previous two decades. All regions of the country will need massive amounts of new resources and increased grid capability yet face lagging infrastructure, supply chain issues and slow-moving planning processes.
Current forecasts, based on Brattle’s aggregation of most recent RTO and utility forecasts across the country, suggest peak loads will increase by 175 GW by 2030, and 270 GW by 2035 (24% and 36%, respectively) relative to 2024. Annual energy use is projected to grow even faster, adding 53% by 2035, since many of the new loads have higher load factors than existing loads.
By Samuel Newell
From: Utility Dive
April 17, 2025