The growth of data centers, alongside electric vehicles and manufacturing, is driving the largest surge in electricity demand in the U.S. in decades, Nicholas Institute expert Tim Profeta explained to WHYY News in Philadelphia. This could present an opportunity to improve the grid—or it could raise costs for households and undermine grid reliability, Profeta said.

Duke University kicked off industry discussions on large load flexibility with a February 2025 report, writes columnist K Kaufmann for RTO Insider. Kaufmann reports that a new policy brief takes the next step, calling on state regulators to develop official definitions of flexible large loads "based on a set of enforceable curtailment commitments meeting specific technical requirements."

The data center boom is changing grid conditions quickly—and companies want to go even faster. That provides an opportunity to include demand response—which could be implemented without changing market rules—in negotiations in a way that benefits everyone, Nicholas Institute expert Martin Ross explained to Energywire.

The power industry and its regulators are increasingly urging tech companies to scale back energy consumption at data centers when called upon by utilities and grid operators, Reuters reports. Taking action when local grids are maxed out could save $40 billion to $150 billion in capital investments over the next decade, according to a recent Nicholas Institute analysis.

"To address ratepayer frustration while building a larger, cleaner, and more reliable energy system, North Carolina policymakers should look to strengthen competitiveness," writes Nicholas Institute expert Jackson Ewing in a commentary at NC Newsline. Ewing explains that competitiveness is not a single policy but a range of options that can introduce useful checks and balances into the electricity system.

A major driver of rising energy bills is the cost of building grid infrastructure to serve new data centers, electric car chargers and manufacturing plants, but even as demand grows, there is a lot of unused capacity already on the grid, reports Latitude Media. Last year, Duke University researchers found across the U.S. there may be 100 gigawatts to spare, if only utilities and state energy regulators could both measure and unlock the extra room.

A new industry-led coalition known as Utilize brings together leading companies, utilities and policy organizations to advance smarter, faster and more affordable use of existing grid infrastructure to help meet growing electricity demand. A press release announcing Utilize cited a Duke University analysis that estimates the additional demand that could be served on existing systems outside of peak conditions.

"If the energy transition is an engineering challenge, it is equally a capital allocation—and governance—challenge. And neither is simple," writes Nicholas Institute Director Brian Murray on LinkedIn. Murray's article offers several key takeaways from Duke's third "From Billions to Trillions" summit, which convened hundreds of business leaders, investors, policymakers, consultants, faculty, students, and practitioners.

A surge in AI-driven electricity demand is colliding with the United States’ push to decarbonize in a moment that requires both urgency and discipline, according to speakers at Duke’s third annual “From Billions to Trillions” summit. The Sanford School of Public Policy recaps two sessions focused on a central question: How can we scale infrastructure fast enough for AI while protecting affordability, reliability and climate gains?

A new Nicholas Institute report suggests the scale of new energy generation needed to meet growing demand could depend less on how much electricity data centers use than on when they use it. “At any given time there’s plenty of unused power on the grid,” report author Jackson Ewing told WRAL News. “The core challenge is those peak moments, which only happen a few times a year.”

New modeling by Nicholas Institute experts focused primarily on the economic benefits of data center load flexibility, but it also pointed the way to reducing high-emitting natural gas plants by replacing them with solar, wind and battery storage. Author Martin Ross spoke with The Energy Mix about some of the key findings of the analysis and what additional data is needed "to evaluate how the system will respond to the growth in data centers."

Building on previous Duke University research, a new Nicholas Institute report finds flexible data center operations could favor renewable development over gas and result in up to $150 billion in cumulative savings for energy customers. Authors Martin Ross and Jackson Ewing talked with Latitude Media about their analysis and the potential impacts of flexibility to other grid stakeholders—and the grid itself—in the next decade.

Demand flexibility among data centers could reduce the need for new gas-fired generation to supply their energy consumption while driving development of additional renewables and cutting electricity prices, according to a new Nicholas Institute report. Author Martin Ross dug into the details of the findings with RTO Insider.

Data centers are coming to North Carolina, raising questions about infrastructure costs, energy sources and community impact. State Rep. Jeff McNeely (R-Iredell), Tim Profeta (Nicholas Institute) and Nick Jimenez (Southern Environmental Law Center) offered some answers during a roundtable discussion on PBS North Carolina's "State Lines."

The interim report puts forth a set of recommendations to ensure that North Carolinians have affordable, reliable and clean energy supplies amid rapidly growing demand for energy, according to a press release from Gov. Stein's office. Recommendations include developing "options to encourage load flexibility," an issue that Nicholas Institute expert and task force member Tim Profeta is studying with Duke University colleagues.