The Houston Chronicle reports that Texas policymakers are focused largely on expanding generation and transmission to meet rising data center load growth. Matthew Boms, Executive Director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, stated that boosting energy efficiency by maximizing the use of existing grid infrastructure offers a more cost-effective way to ease grid strain, increase affordability, and meet rising energy demand.
Data centers are demanding more electricity than ever before to train the latest artificial intelligence models. Texas policymakers have responded mostly by racing to expand the state’s power grid to accommodate them all.
If new power plants aren’t built fast enough to keep up with increasing electricity demand, rates could soar for everyone. The problem is, simply building more infrastructure also increases energy bills, as all consumers across the state share in the cost of new power lines.
But there’s another way to make room on the power grid for data centers, energy experts say — a solution that Texas has long overlooked.
In addition to increasing the grid’s capacity, the state could also significantly address the other side of the supply-and-demand equation: Cutting down on energy waste.
“The cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one that you don’t produce,” said Matthew Boms, executive director of the Texas Advanced Energy Business Alliance, a clean energy trade group. “It’s the lowest-hanging fruit.”
Millions of Texas homes run on older appliances that use more electricity than newer technologies. Many homes are also poorly insulated, which means they require more electricity to heat or cool the space to a comfortable temperature.
There are programs that provide financial assistance for families to retrofit their homes and replace older appliances, but critics say they’re limited and don’t do enough. If Texas were to expand these programs, update building energy codes, or otherwise incentivize energy-saving upgrades, it could welcome new data centers and other industrial facilities at a lower cost for everyone, as less new infrastructure would have to be built.
It could also provide direct relief to families who are struggling to pay their power bills, energy efficiency advocates said, as rising electricity rates spark growing backlash against data centers, politicians and utilities.
“If you don't want to turn away data centers, then you're going to have to take these solutions more seriously,” Boms said.
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