WASHINGTON, DC-A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators joined in Washington in late May for a hearing to discuss the reliability of electricity as demand for power continues to increase as the tech sector expands across the country. Data centers require a large electricity load to operate, and the demand is coming at a time when EPA rules aim to shut down always available coal-fired electricity plants, which is diminishing the supply of reliable electricity.
The group of bipartisan U.S. senators included Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY).
The committee heard testimony from American Electric Power’s (AEP) interim CEO Ben Fowke, who expressed concerns about the rising demand for electricity at a time when reliable coal plants have closed or will likely close due to the new EPA rules. Data centers and the tech market want to build and grow in the U.S. and they require a lot of electric power, around the clock.
“Let me be clear: this load growth is the opportunity of a generation and it’s ours to lose,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) said.
As the demand for power grows, the ability to supply the power needed is diminishing fast, all because of the USEPA’s new rules targeting fossil fuel-fired power plants.
Many have shut down over the last 10 years, and the new EPA power plant rules are likely to be a death blow for coal plants that provide reliable, affordable, always available power.
As the U.S. is tearing down coal plants, China is building them at a rapid pace due to its tech boom.
