Overview
- Developers are moving more projects off the public grid, with a Cleanview report estimating about 30% of planned data center power will be on site and Axios reporting Chevron is working on a dedicated gas plant for a Microsoft facility in Texas.
- Battery storage is scaling fast, with 24.3 GW planned for 2026, making it the second-biggest new resource as operators use big batteries to buffer round-the-clock AI loads.
- Interconnection backlogs are severe, as NYISO reports 11.9 GW of future large-load requests, which is pushing some data centers to start as stand-alone energy “islands.”
- Tech firms are directly paying for capacity, with Meta agreeing to fund seven new natural-gas plants, three battery sites, and 240 miles of transmission in Louisiana to power its $27 billion Hyperion campus.
- Regulators and grid operators flag strain and trade-offs, as FERC pursues new rules for large-load hookups and PJM warns of possible shortfalls by 2027 that could raise costs and increase reliance on gas.