Combustion & Compute: Gas, Diesel, Data Centers, and the Hidden Costs of the AI Energy Boom
We are in a period of exceptional near-term electricity demand growth sparked predominately by new large data center loads to support AI training and deployment. This trend is driving a major departure from the flat demand growth of the prior two decades. Data centers have wrought industry-wide disruption, exacerbating points of weakness across the electricity system. In pursuit of speed and uptime, many data center developers and operators are turning to significant on-site fossil fuel generation. From mobile gas generators designed for primary generation to diesel generator sets intended only for reliability back-up during grid emergencies to jerry-rigged jet engines, there are many iterations of these systems. At the same time in front of the meter, many utilities and system planners, concerned about reliably meeting their existing and new customers’ needs, are pushing forward a slate of new natural gas projects.
This session will start with the facts of gas plant expansion and the rise of on-site fossil systems. From there, we will discuss what the fossil fuel surge means for the climate and communities, including risks of fossil fuel lock-in, implications for electricity system planning, financial trade-offs, and the local health and environmental impacts of new polluting resources.
Featuring panelists including:
Jamesine Rogers Gibson, Bay Area Air District
Felix Chow-Kambitsch, Aurora Energy Research
Josh Lappen, University of Notre Dame
Moderated by Michelle Levinson, World Resources Institute Polsky Energy Center
By registering for this event, you agree to share your registration information with the organizers of SF Climate Week.
Presented by Pleiades Strategy (pleiadesstrategy.com) and World Resources Institute Polsky Center for the Global Energy Transition (wri.org/energy).
This event is part of the Pleiades Salon, a day of talks curated by the folks who bring you Transition Finance Weekly on some of the thorniest challenges of the energy transition. All panels can be found on the Pleiades Strategy calendar here on Luma. In between each panel, we'll have coffee and camaraderie to share. Please join us!