The peak usage represented by proposed large projects could top 438.5 gigawatts. That’s roughly equal to a third of the power generation in the entire country.
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EERCOT has received 519 requests to connect large electricity users over the last two years, which represents a more than 2,000 percent increase over the 24 requests the electric grid operator received the year prior.
Moreover, the peak usage represented by these large projects could top 438.5 gigawatts. That’s roughly equal to a third of the power generation in the entire country.
Those are some of the top-line findings from a recent report by the Texas Tribune, an online news site. The Tribune reported in its June report that 90 percent of the large load requests over the last two years have come from AI data centers, most of which aim to start operations by 2030. And while ERCOT maintains that not all these projects will show up, “no one knows the real number that will ultimately connect to the grid, or how much power they’ll need,” the Tribune reports.
MORE FINDINGS
As part of its examination of the issue, the Tribune created an online tool showing the location of proposed data centers by zip code and how much power those centers are expected to consume. You can find that tool here.
But whether 438 GW of large load shows up — or whether it’s something less — it’s indisputable that an AI data center boom is underway in Texas. It’s also indisputable that this boom will have broad implications for the economic, environmental, land-use and political landscape of the state.
The recent Texas Tribune report about the data center influx can be found here. A few additional highlights from the report include:
- At least 248 planned data centers are definitely coming to Texas. That’s based on a review of facilities compiled by two companies that track the industry, along with Tribune research.
- Eighty-six of the new projects are planned in North Texas, 56 for Central Texas, and 45 in West Texas.
The vast majority of the projects are planned for urban and suburban counties with more than 50,000 people. However, about 50 percent will go to unincorporated areas with limited authority to regulate them, as compared to cities. - The average planned facility will require five times more capacity than the average existing data center in Texas.
Among existing data centers, the upper limit for power capacity is 1,200 megawatts. Among planned data centers, the max is nine times that amount. - A planned facility in Abilene proposes to use grid power and on-site gas power and batteries to get up to 1,200 megawatts of electricity — enough to power roughly a third of the households in the city of Houston.