TGIF. Our friends at Currence just launched their new Powering AI Survey—they're looking for insights from power providers, OEMs, and other industry stakeholders on what it really costs to power a data center. Help them paint a clearer picture for energy pros and financiers: Take the survey here (and get the report when it comes out).
— Molly, Carrie, and the Energy Central editorial team
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Grid equipment waitlists keep growing—but so does manufacturing capacity.
The problem: The data center frenzy has left energy supply chains even more clogged than my pores. In recent years, the hyperscaler buildout has amplified equipment shortages sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The numbers: Since 2022, the lead time for power transformers has jumped 100%, while the wait for generator step-up transformers has grown 260%. As for gas turbines, the backlog has ballooned by 50-250% since 2022.
The fix? If you ask the White House, more domestic manufacturing is key to fortifying the grid. The industry agrees: For example, Siemens and Hitachi are each investing around $1B to supercharge US equipment production. But in the meantime, some utilities and developers are turning to refurbished equipment.
NV Energy is suing a major data center developer over an alleged regulatory workaround.
What happened: Tract is (allegedly) trying to skirt the state PUC. How? By privately negotiating agreements with NV Energy over two of its new data center projects, according to a lawsuit filed by the utility.
The details: Tract wants NV Energy to “reserve and provide enormous amounts of power for Tract’s private development” while shifting costs onto ratepayers, the utility claimed. In response, Tract told The Nevada Independent that it plans to spend nearly $1B to support NV Energy's infrastructure.
The DOE might scrap Biden-era energy efficiency rules for transformers—but power pros aren’t too keen on the idea.
The context: In 2024, the DOE set requirements for more energy-efficient types of steel in new distribution transformers. Now, the Trump administration claims the rules could affect “national security considerations, including impacts on domestic manufacturing capacity, supply chain resilience, and the availability and cost of key materials.” This aligns with the DOE’s recent move to rewrite home appliance efficiency standards.
The industry response: In comments filed earlier this month, the American Public Power Association said it “does not advocate for any changes to the final rule.” Andrew deLaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, told Utility Dive that “we’re not aware of anyone asking for this.”
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Utilities can take some hints from new dads, EC’s Matt Chester says.
After welcoming his first child in June, our Community Manager Matt Chester noticed some surprising parallels between parenting and the challenges facing today’s utilities. Take it from him: We can pluck grid wisdom from the chaos of new fatherhood, from planning for redundancy to crowdsourcing insights.
Vehicle-to-grid integration could offer up to $7B in savings per year.
The details: This stat comes from a recent E3 study (funded by GM), which highlighted V2G’s potential to boost capacity and reduce the need for new transmission and distribution infrastructure. E3 estimated that these savings could arrive by 2030, according to market price forecasts and EV adoption predictions.
Where GM comes in: As we reported, the automaker is going all in on V2G by adding the capability to all its new EVs—and partnering with utilities on pilot programs. But for this to scale, GM emphasized, public-private collaboration is crucial.
While we’re here: In Massachusetts, Eversource and National Grid are testing V2G for residential customers through their demand-response programs. “Massachusetts is sitting on a large and growing energy reserve,” the companies said in a statement, noting that the state has over 150K EVs on the road.
As demand surges, power plants across the US are getting new lives.
On the gas side: The Trump administration wants to restart shuttered petroleum refineries everywhere from California to the Virgin Islands.
On the solar side: A 1.2-GW solar array is headed to the site of a Texas coal plant, which will continue to run. It’s the biggest solar installation to land on a North American brownfield site.
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Thanks for reading. TTYL!