According to a new report, the U.S. has invested a record $338 billion in energy transitions, but it is not enough to reduce the country’s overall carbon emissions.
Solar leads, adding 49 GW of new electrical power generation capacity in 2024, far exceeding any other technology. Now, solar and wind represent nearly a quarter of electricity demand, almost 10% of all energy consumption in the United States. Reportreleased by Bloomberg and the Sustainable Energy Business Council on Thursday.
Meanwhile, demand for natural gas increased by 1.3%, enough to increase U.S. emissions in half. The rise is mainly driven by industrial users of natural gas burning and power plants, mainly to generate electricity or heat.
The new report landed when the United States was at a crossroads. Since 2005, the country’s carbon emissions have fallen by nearly 16%, while electricity-related emissions have fallen by more than 40% over the same period. The United States can also increase productivity through the energy it uses, generating 2.3% of economic output from the energy consumed by a given energy last year.
at the same time, Electricity demand is expected to rise sharply in the coming years. according to Report From the grid strategy, 15.8% of the electricity can be used by the United States by 2029. Which technology supply can determine the country’s impact on climate change over decades.
The soaring demand for data centers is the biggest driving force for new electricity demand. Tech companies have been investing in a large number of new data centers to power cloud operations and be ambitious for their AI. The pace of addition has accelerated so that half of all new AI servers may be Insufficient ability By 2027.
Such predictions invalidate technology companies to ensure power for the next few years. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have announced large investments in nuclear power to support startups Kairos and X-energy Given that they did not directly release carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, while restoring the old nuclear reactor.
They also continue to add renewable capabilities to their portfolios. This year alone, Amazon has reached an agreement with energy producers to add to the growing demand for longing data centers 476 MWYuan Buy 200 MW In a transaction 595 MW In another. These transactions are dominated by solar energy and reflect trends nationwide. This is partly because the technology is cheap and the new solar farm will be available online soon. For tech companies that generate electricity, cost and speed issues.
Consumption of awareness efficiency may further help tech giants by twisting more electricity from the grid without requiring greater capacity. A study published last week shows Subtle adjustments – Just like scheduling computing tasks at lower power demand or transferring them to regions with higher capacity, in the United States, 76 GW of headroom can be unlocked, accounting for 10% of the national peak power demand.
If the United States is to keep pace with its global competitors, it may require a clever adaptation like this. Despite record performance in energy transition, the United States still lags behind China’s deployment of capital. Last year, the United States spent 1.3% of its GDP during the transition period and China spent 4.4%.
