Local View: Data-center growth must come with clean energy
This opinion piece advocates for responsible data center growth in the Midwest, emphasizing the need to pair new facilities with clean energy and grid infrastructure. It highlights concerns about potential strain on the power grid and higher costs for consumers if data center demand outpaces new resources. The author calls for fair cost allocation and transparent community engagement in development planning.
Beth Soholt, executive director of the Minneapolis-based Clean Grid Alliance, argues that the rapid expansion of data centers across the Midwest must be balanced with robust clean energy development and grid infrastructure to avoid straining the region's energy supply.
Soholt highlights projections from the Electric Power Research Institute indicating data centers could consume up to 17% of U.S. electricity by 2030. She warns that if this demand outpaces new resources, consumers could face higher costs and risks to grid reliability. To counter this, she proposes that data centers should be paired with new wind, solar, and battery-storage projects, which are cost-effective and quickly deployable.
The Clean Grid Alliance advocates for a comprehensive approach involving utilities, regulators, communities, developers, policymakers, and regional grid operators. Key principles include ensuring data centers add clean power, planning beyond individual sites to include grid improvements, protecting existing customers from unfair cost increases, and providing communities with transparent information and a meaningful voice in development decisions.
In Minnesota, the alliance is actively advocating for utility programs to align data center growth with clean energy and cost protection for existing customers. They are also involved in long-term utility planning processes in Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Missouri to promote the role of renewables in meeting new data center demand.