By Danielle Smith, Keystone State News Connection
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Pennsylvania’s expanding data center industry is raising new questions about electricity demand and grid capacity.
Data centers are projected to account for, at most, 25% of new electricity demand by 2030.
David Hill, executive vice president for energy with the Bipartisan Policy Center, said demand for electricity from data centers is climbing quickly across the country, including in the parts of Pennsylvania covered by PJM regional grid, which are seeing strong growth.
He said the industry will need significant new power supplies, but added that Pennsylvania is a major energy producer and is well-positioned to meet the demand.
“Pennsylvania is a terrific state for producing energy, and has a great history of it,” said Hill. “I think Pennsylvania really has a can do approach to solving problems and addressing issues, and so I think that’ll serve it very well in terms of the growth of data centers, and data center capability, and the energy to serve them.”
Pennsylvania currently has 37 active data centers, with 9 more being built and 168 in the planning stages. This summer, Gov. Josh Shapiro said Amazon’s $20 billion investment in new data centers will support artificial intelligence.
At the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit in Pittsburgh in July, companies unveiled more than $90 billion in planned investments for data centers, infrastructure, and AI training initiatives.
Hill said data centers are challenging because of their high energy use, affecting costs and grid management. He noted that they are often built faster than new energy sources can come online, creating potential supply issues.
He added that data centers may drive up demand for electricity, but they aren’t the only factor.
“Electrification of vehicles, increased electrification of homes, increased electrification of manufacturing processes and new manufacturing, all are leading to big increases in electric power demand,” said Hill. “Data centers are a significant piece, but there are a lot of other significant pieces too.”
Hill noted that construction jobs for data centers are well-paying, but fewer people are needed on job sites than usual. Data centers also offer substantial property tax benefits, which could be valuable for local jurisdictions.
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Source: bctv