Overview
- BloombergNEF now projects U.S. data centers will draw 106 GW by 2035, up from about 40 GW today and 36% higher than its April forecast.
- Growth remains concentrated, with roughly half of new demand expected in the PJM region and substantial additions in Texas’s ERCOT, as developers plan far larger sites.
- Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s independent market monitor, has asked FERC to let PJM delay large new data center hookups until reliable capacity is available, including creating a load queue.
- PJM stakeholders recently failed to adopt proposals to manage the surge, while the watchdog says consumers will pay $16.6 billion for future supply in 2025–2027, about 90% tied to expected data center load.
- Corporations are moving to manage exposure: Meta filed to become a wholesale power marketer and Disney is hiring an energy trader, reflecting a broader shift to in‑house procurement and hedging.