There was a lot of concern among tech companies and policymakers about the looming power shortage on the grid, as there was no rise in AI at all. But what is less well known is that there is a new terawatt of ability waiting for connections to the grid to be approved, and unleashing the bureaucracy could go a long way in solving the problem.
All US grid operators face similar backlogs, but few are more important than the PJM backlogs that manage electricity flows in mid-Atlantic states, Ohio and eastern Kentucky.
Now, Google and PJM are hoping that AI will help speed things up.
The two organizations announced a partnership with Alphabet’s “Moonshot” Tapestry on Thursday, developing an AI model to streamline a critical part of the application process on both sides of the transaction. Supported with data verification and submit projects through a new centralized planning tool. This helps PJM analyze the best ways to integrate variable power sources such as renewable energy.
With the surge in calculations of demand from AI, tech companies are competing to ensure their generation capabilities. Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft are all investing or pledging to buy a substantial amount of nuclear power. But they are also steadily snapping up a lot of solar power.
The interconnection problem is certainly unstable, but solving it could reduce concerns about powerless data centers. Nationally, a 2.6 terawatt generation capacity is awaiting approval, according to Lawrence Barkley Lab. This is what every US power plant today can produce today.
The PJM queue is much longer. According to Berkeley Lab, there have been over 3,000 active requests to connect the region’s 286.7 gigawatt capacity. Overwhelmed, the organization stopped accepting applications for new connections in 2022 and will not confirm new requests until mid-2026.
Renewable energy is most punished by the curing process.
Nationally, more than one terawatt of solar and storage are waiting for permission to send electronics to the grid. Even in the Kew PJM region, which is not normally considered a breeding ground for renewable development, two clean power sources are dominated. Only 2.4% of applicants are natural gas power plants.
The grid managed by PJM has historically been dominated by fossil fuels. Over the past decade or so, natural gas-fired power plants have replaced coal as fracking reduced gas costs. Grid operators have recently developed a new approval process that claims that critics will allow fossil fuel plants to unfairly skip lines prior to renewable projects.
In announcing its partnership with Google, Aftab Khan, executive vice president of PJM, said the organization’s grid remains “fuel-invisible,” according to E&E News. Meanwhile, Google spokesperson Amanda Peterson Corio claimed that he is “committed to the goal of decarbonizing the electric footprint.”