US Energy Department Warns of Increased Blackout Risk by 2030, Citing AI and Reindustrialization

Lack of new US power capacity could double blackouts by 2030, says Energy Department

July 7 (Reuters) - U.S. power outages could double in five years if suppliers fail to add capacity during peak demand, the Department of Energy said on Monday. "Blackouts could increase by 100% in 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources," DOE noted in a report on grid reliability and security. It cited green policies of the Biden administration as a major reason for the retirement of power plants and the delay in approving their replacements. The gap between electricity demand and supply is widening, particularly as artificial intelligence drives the need for more power-hungry data centers, it added. The department said it expects 209 gigawatts of new electricity generation to be added by 2030 to replace 104 GW of plant retirements, but only 22 GW of the new energy will come from power sources that provide stable and continuous power supply, raising outage risk in several regions. Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:EnergyRegulatory OversightGovernanceGrid & Infrastructure

Blackout risks rising as AI, reindustrialization push strain grid

The Trump administration warned Monday that the risk of blackouts could be 100 times greater by the end of the decade, as the race to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and the push to reshore manufacturing strain the electrical grid. In a new report, the Department of Energy noted that 104 gigawatts of power capacity are set to be retired by 2030. Even if the U.S. brings online 209 gigawatts within the next six years as planned, the average annual outage time would increase from about 8 hours per year to more than 800 hours per year, according to the report. Data centers, which help power AI training and usage, are expected to add anywhere from 35 gigawatts to 108 gigawatts in load growth to the grid by the end of the decade. While eliminating the planned plant retirements would reduce the risk of blackouts, the potential for outages would still be 34 times greater by 2030, the report found. Energy Secretary Chris Wright used the findings to underscore the need to maintain current power sources, such as coal and natural gas, aligning with President Trump's embrace of non-renewable energy. "This report affirms what we already know: The United States cannot afford to continue down the unstable and dangerous path of energy subtraction previous leaders pursued, forcing the closure of baseload power sources like coal and natural gas," Wright said in a statement. "In the coming years, America's reindustrialization and the AI race will require a significantly larger supply of around-the-clock, reliable, and uninterrupted power," he added. "President Trump's administration is committed to advancing a strategy of energy addition, and supporting all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable, and secure." However, some pushed back on the Department of Energy's findings. Advanced Energy United, a trade group representing the advanced energy industry, suggested the report may overstate the risks of blackouts and undervalue resources like wind, solar and battery storage. "We are working quickly to dig into the numbers to unpack how DOE reached its conclusions, but it's troubling that the report was not subject to public input and scrutiny," Caitlin Marquis, managing director at Advanced Energy United, said in a statement. She noted that the report, which was produced in response to an April executive order, will be used to help identify which power plants are retained. "If the analysis is overly pessimistic about advanced energy technologies and the future of the grid, consumers will end up paying too much for resources we no longer need," Marquis added.

Lack of New US Power Capacity Could Double Blackouts by 2030, Says Energy Department

(Reuters) -U.S. power outages could double in five years if suppliers fail to add capacity during peak demand, the Department of Energy said on Monday. "Blackouts could increase by 100% in 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources," DOE noted in a report on grid reliability and security. It cited green policies of the Biden administration as a major reason for the retirement of power plants and the delay in approving their replacements. The gap between electricity demand and supply is widening, particularly as artificial intelligence drives the need for more power-hungry data centers, it added. The department said it expects 209 gigawatts of new electricity generation to be added by 2030 to replace 104 GW of plant retirements, but only 22 GW of the new energy will come from power sources that provide stable and continuous power supply, raising outage risk in several regions. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)

Get Ready For 800 Hours Of Blackouts, Trump's DOE Warns - Oklo (NYSE:OKLO)

The Department of Energy (DOE) under President Donald Trump released a report warning that the planned shutdown of existing power plants, combined with delays in bringing new energy sources online, could result in a significant increase in blackouts by the end of the decade. Key Findings from the DOE Report: The DOE's report found that approximately 104 gigawatts (GW) of current power generation capacity are set to be retired by 2030. If these facilities are not replaced promptly, the number of hours Americans experience power outages each year could jump from the current single digits to more than 800 hours without power each year. Read Next: Solar Stocks Sink: Trump Slashes Green Tax Breaks While 209 GW of new capacity is scheduled to come online by 2030, only 22 GW of that will be from reliable, always-available (baseload) sources. The report also notes that even if no retirements occurred, the risk of outages in some regions could still triple. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright told Fox Business that the administration is focused on increasing energy supply from all affordable, reliable and secure sources to meet rising demand and support the country's competitiveness in AI and manufacturing. "In the coming years, America's reindustrialization and the AI race will require a significantly larger supply of around-the-clock, reliable, and uninterrupted power," Wright said. "President Trump's administration is committed to advancing a strategy of energy addition, and supporting all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable, and secure," he added. "If we are going to keep the lights on, win the AI race, and keep electricity prices from skyrocketing, the United States must unleash American energy." Nuclear Alternative: Nuclear plants provide continuous, stable electricity, regardless of weather or time of day, unlike solar and wind energy. Nuclear energy could help to mitigate potential energy shortages and is viewed favorably by the Trump administration. In fact, President Trump signed a series of executive orders at the end of May aimed at revitalizing the nuclear energy sector. Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to declare a national emergency regarding the U.S. reliance on foreign uranium supplies and directed federal agencies to accelerate nuclear project development and remove regulatory barriers. As federal support shifts toward nuclear technologies, investors may want to monitor the sector. Some companies that could benefit include Oklo, Inc. OKLO, NuScale Power Corp. SMR, Nano Nuclear Energy Inc. NNE and Constellation Energy Corp. CEG. Read Next: SoFi Ready To 'Capture The Opportunity' As Trump's 'Big, Beautiful' Plan Restricts Federal Student Loans Photo: Shutterstock OKLOOklo Inc$53.66-4.08%Stock Score Locked: Edge Members Only Benzinga Rankings give you vital metrics on any stock - anytime. Unlock RankingsEdge RankingsMomentum99.17Price TrendShortMediumLongOverviewCEGConstellation Energy Corp$312.84-1.70%NNENano Nuclear Energy Inc$33.65-1.44%SMRNuScale Power Corp$35.22-4.03%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Trump's Energy Department warns US may face 800 hours of blackouts by 2030

DOE's report found that with about 104 gigawatts of energy-generating capacity scheduled to be retired by 2030, power outages could see a significant rise if that capacity isn't replaced in a timely manner. It is estimated that annual outage hours could rise from single digits today to over 800 hours per year. The agency noted that while 104 GW of power generation is scheduled to be retired, it is scheduled to be replaced by 209 GW of new capacity by 2030 -- though only 22 GW of that comes from firm baseload generation sources. It added that even with the assumption of no retirements, the risk of outages in some areas rises more than 3-fold. "This report affirms what we already know: The United States cannot afford to continue down the unstable and dangerous path of energy subtraction previous leaders pursued, forcing the closure of baseload power sources like coal and natural gas," Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. The report said electricity demand is rising in part due to the construction of energy-intensive artificial intelligence (AI) data centers along with advanced manufacturing facilities. "In the coming years, America's reindustrialization and the AI race will require a significantly larger supply of around-the-clock, reliable, and uninterrupted power," Wright said. "President Trump's administration is committed to advancing a strategy of energy addition, and supporting all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable, and secure," he added. "If we are going to keep the lights on, win the AI race, and keep electricity prices from skyrocketing, the United States must unleash American energy." The DOE said that its past peak-hour tests to evaluate the adequacy of energy resources "do not sufficiently account for growing dependence on neighboring grids." It added that "modern methods of evaluating resource adequacy need to incorporate frequency, magnitude, and duration of power outages, move beyond exclusively analyzing peak load time periods, and develop integrated models to enable proper analysis of increasing reliance on neighboring grids." DOE's report was produced in response to President Donald Trump's executive order on "Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid" and provides a methodology for identifying at-risk regions as well as guiding reliability interventions by the federal government.

Lack of new US power capacity could double blackouts by 2030, says Energy Department

(Reuters) -U.S. power outages could double in five years if suppliers fail to add capacity during peak demand, the Department of Energy said on Monday. "Blackouts could increase by 100% in 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources," DOE noted in a report on grid reliability and security. It cited green policies of the Biden administration as a major reason for the retirement of power plants and the delay in approving their replacements. The gap between electricity demand and supply is widening, particularly as artificial intelligence drives the need for more power-hungry data centers, it added. The department said it expects 209 gigawatts of new electricity generation to be added by 2030 to replace 104 GW of plant retirements, but only 22 GW of the new energy will come from power sources that provide stable and continuous power supply, raising outage risk in several regions. (Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)