The Electric Reliability Council of Texas added 43 GW to its five-year load growth forecast last year, or more than one-third of an expected 128 GW of U.S. load growth through 2029, Grid Strategies said in December.
New data centers (18 GW), cryptocurrency mines (6 GW), hydrogen production (5.8 GW), other industrial facilities (5.7 GW) and oil and gas facilities (2.8 GW) will drive the bulk of the expected load growth through 2029, ERCOT said earlier this month in an updated forecast. On Thursday, the Public Utilities Commission of Texas approved three 765-kV transmission lines — the state’s first — to reduce congestion in the rapidly-electrifying Permian Basin oil patch.
Read more in Utility Dive here.
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