In the Kansas City area, the construction of a data center and an electric-vehicle battery factory is expected to require so much energy that the local provider has postponed plans to shut down a coal-fired power plant. The increasing energy demands of these industries are challenging the capacity of local power providers and impacting environmental plans.
Key takeaways:
- The boom in artificial intelligence is significantly increasing electricity use in a 30-square-mile area in northern Virginia known as 'data center alley.'
- The local power company struggled to meet the demand, even temporarily halting new data center connections in 2022.
- Virginia's environmental regulators considered allowing data centers to use diesel generators during power shortages, but this plan was abandoned due to strong community opposition.
- In the Kansas City area, the energy demand from a new data center and electric-vehicle battery factory is so high that the local provider postponed plans to close a coal-fired power plant.