It’s no secret that demand for electricity is increasing rapidly. A recent study conducted by PA Consulting and released by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), “A Reliable Grid for an Electric Future,” projects an escalation in demand of 50% over the next 25 years. Furthermore, electricity is projected to grow from 21% of final energy use to around 32% by 2050.

To preserve a resilient grid, the study’s authors suggest that new policies and regulatory certainty will be as necessary as investment in technologies to meet the growing demand for electricity. They propose an “all-of-the-above” approach.

According to the study, more reliable baseload generation is needed. This would include building a greater share of intermittent capacity to meet demand and total grid capacity.

The study also suggests that transmission efficiency could be improved and power losses reduced if grid operators would upgrade existing power lines. For example, 110 gigawatts (GW) of grid capacity could be unlocked by reconductoring, 80 GW could be unlocked by dynamic line ratings, another 25 GW could be unlocked by smart grid tech and 75 GW of transmission capacity could be unlocked by storing excess energy for use during peak demand.

Policy recommendations proposed by the study are intended to solidify and support the country’s energy system, and include:

• Streamlining permitting and siting for generation, distribution and critical minerals
• Encouraging adoption of grid-enhancing technologies (GETs)
• Harnessing energy tax incentives to invest in essential grid technologies and grow domestic manufacturing of critical grid infrastructure
• Deploying tax credits and incentives that enable utilities to make significant smart grid, distributed energy and resiliency investments
• Advancing “all-of-the-above” energy policies that encourage diverse energy generation from natural gas, small modular reactors and geothermal
• Encouraging “transparent and consistent” tariff policies
• Expanding the 45X production tax credit to include distribution transformers
  

            The study forecasts unprecedented growth of energy consumption—specifically, a 300% projected growth rate in data center energy consumption over the next 10 years and 9,000% projected growth in e-mobility (electric vehicles and other forms of electrified transportation) through 2050. With that kind of expansion, changes must be made to accommodate intensified demand.

Other recommendations to meet increasing demand found in the study include:

• Deploying energy-saving and peak-shifting technologies
• Leveraging precooling, storage and microgrids to reduce data center grid impact
• Improving reliability
• Reducing costs
• Using EVs as mobile energy assets to balance supply and demand through smart charging and demand shifting