Data centers should be ready to bring their own power, Wright says
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios.
Data center developers should provide their own electricity if enough isn't available, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Axios in a Climate Week NYC interview.
Why it matters: Energy-hungry data centers are prompting a rush for electricity after decades of stagnant growth, and some independent grid operators warn power shortages could be ahead.
- Wright's comments reinforce President Trump's support earlier this year for the concept of co-locating data centers next to power sources instead of getting electricity from broader grid systems.
Driving the news: Asked if he would support curtailing data centers' growth if electricity reliability was at risk, Wright answered: "I think a better way to look at it and how we talk to all developers of data centers, is: 'If there is not available power for you, you got to bring the energy with you."
The big picture: This is the energy sector's BYOB, only it's BYOG: Bring your own generation.
- It's a wonky — but wildly important — debate that's shaking up a historically sleepy and slow-moving power sector.
The other side: A former top energy regulator during the first Trump administration expressed concern that co-locating data centers next to their own power sources could lead to household electricity shortages.
- Speaking at an Axios House event during Climate Week, former FERC Chair Neil Chatterjee said "a flood of applications" for such projects could drain the power grid — especially at peak demand times.
- On extremely hot or cold days, "if the grid operator has to choose whether to send that power to a 24/7 data center to support AI or to residential consumers, I guarantee you it's going to the data center," Chatterjee said Tuesday.
- "That means residential consumers could be without air conditioning on the hottest day of the summer or without heat on the coldest day of the winter. These are real questions and they're not political."
The intrigue: Wright was asked about Chatterjee's comments during an onstage interview with Axios later Tuesday at an event hosted by the Dynamo Energy Hub, a networking group for energy companies.
- He said concerns about reliability of power are "legitimate" but then sought to blame the Biden administration for what he described as not supporting robust power growth.
What we're watching: FERC is considering the issue now, specifically its effect in the country's largest power market across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Last year, it rejected such a proposal.
