Cy McGeady

1 month ago | csis.org | Cy McGeady |Joseph Majkut |Barath Harithas |Karl Smith

The overwhelming dominance of Texas in deploying new generation resources, with solar the dominant category, must be noted. Texas attracts investment with a low-barriers permitting environment, fast access to grid connection under the ERCOT “connect-and-manage” model, and plentiful land. In Texas, which is served via a competitive market rather than an integrated utility, interconnection queue data indicates incredible interest in developing solar and storage.

Dec 10, 2024 | csis.org | Cy McGeady

IntroductionArtificial intelligence (AI)–fueled electric demand growth, combined with industrial reshoring and economy-wide reshoring require the U.S. power sector to grow by upwards of 20 percent in the coming decade. At stake is U.S. leadership in the most strategically vital technologies and industries of the future.

Oct 28, 2024 | csis.org | Cy McGeady

At the local utility level, rapid growth is clearly imminent. Dominion Energy Virginia, the electric utility that serves the Virginia market, has reported that it expects an incremental 10.5 GW of data center demand expansion by 2038, which equates to nearly 91 TWh of new annual consumption in Virginia alone. Numerous additional utilities and grid operators are likewise reporting surges in datacenter interconnection requests and updating local demand growth forecasts accordingly.

Sep 24, 2024 | csis.org | Cy McGeady

The United States needs to think seriously about the energy demands of AI. On this point, Brian Deese and Lisa Hansmann, who’ve penned an interesting proposal on regulating the energy use of AI, are exactly right. Electric demand growth is a paradigm shift for the industry and a strategic scale challenge for the nation. Whatever the outcome of November’s elections, the incoming administration and Congress should make addressing electricity demand growth a top priority.

Sep 3, 2024 | csis.org | Cy McGeady |Nitika Nayar

A wave of new battery storage is following the surge of renewables in the U.S. electric power sector. Battery storage offers an attractive balancing mechanism for a grid facing surging demand growth, worrisome reliability forecasts, efforts to decarbonize, and upward pressure on electricity rates. But how far can battery storage take the grid?