Overview

• The report finds scheduled retirements of about 104 GW of firm generation by 2030 could increase average annual blackout hours from roughly 8 to over 800.
• Of the 209 GW of new capacity planned by 2030, only 22 GW comes from always-on baseload sources such as coal, natural gas or nuclear.
• AI data centers are projected to add between 35 GW and 108 GW of new load by the end of the decade, intensifying grid strain.
• DOE officials caution that intermittent renewables and battery storage cannot fully replace baseload power when wind and solar output drops.
• Advanced Energy United disputes the findings as overly pessimistic on the reliability of wind, solar and storage technologies.