Axios House: Power boom puts new pressure on U.S. grid

NEW YORK — Soaring U.S. electricity demand is requiring more grid capacity, increasing the need to improve existing infrastructure and potentially add a new mix of energy sources, leaders said at Axios House at Climate Week and the UN General Assembly.

Why it matters: AI and data centers, advanced manufacturing, industrialization and the electrification of buildings and transportation are driving up U.S. energy demand and costs.

Axios' Amy Harder spoke to Amazon chief sustainability officer Kara Hurst, "Energy Empire" host Jigar Shah, and Emerald AI founder and CEO Varun Sivaram. The Sept. 21 event was sponsored by GE Vernova.

What they're saying: "Energy is the bottleneck," Sivaram said.

• "The United States wants to connect 70 gigawatts of AI data centers between now and 2028. We'll only succeed in connecting 30," he added.
• Having a variety of power sources like "nuclear plants and geothermal plants and hydroplants and other clean firm technologies sprinkled around the country" could be cheaper than solely relying on solar and wind, Shah said.
• "We have a business to run" and need energy to do it, Hurst said, noting that Amazon is looking at solar power and battery storage in Texas to support the company's needs.

What's next: The U.S. has "the best" clean energy technology with much lower prices for solar, Shah said. "It is now ready to be deployed."

Content from the sponsor's segment:

In a View From the Top conversation, GE Vernova's Power segment CEO Eric Gray said power demand isn't slowing down and success in meeting that demand will play a critical role in which communities flourish.

• "If you look at where economies are going to thrive and really be prosperous, it's going to be in those areas where you have reliable and affordable energy because that's where investment is going to go."

Go deeper: Watch the full conversations.