The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can make large load flexibility a reality through implementation of proposed rulemaking on large load interconnections, according to a policy brief published by the Nicholas Institute. “There are huge benefits potentially from these kinds of flexibility commitments,” co-author and Roselle LLP partner Sam Walsh told RTO Insider.

A seminal white paper from Duke University researchers suggests "headroom" available for data centers to reduce their energy consumption during system peaks could unlock up to 100 GW of spare capacity to integrate these large loads. Elizabeth K. Whitney, managing principal at Meguire Whitney, writes in Latitude Media about how hyperscalers would need to curtail their energy use from the grid to tap into that headroom.

Enabling load flexibility is critical to achieving speed-to-power for data centers and other large energy customers while keeping the grid reliable and affordable for everyone else, write former FERC Commissioner Allison Clements and Roselle LLP partners Miles Farmer and Sam Walsh in an op-ed for Utility Dive. The three were co-authors of a policy brief that offers rules that could comprise a workable framework to achieve large load flexibility success.

As a Ph.D. student and research fellow, Tyler Norris’ work is shaping industry and policy conversations, with bipartisan policy efforts, academic impact and a new career opportunity, Duke Today reveals in a new profile. A study on rethinking load growth in U.S. power systems that Norris co-authored has made waves across the energy sector. His research has led to a spot on the 2025 TIME100 Climate list, a guest essay in The New York Times and a new position at Google focused on energy innovation—and more.

For 20 years, the Nicholas Institute has pursued the “quest for yes”— bringing people together across differences, grounding big ideas in evidence and co-creating durable solutions to environmental and energy challenges. On Oct. 23, the institute welcomed students, scholars, alumni and partners in the community to an anniversary celebration that blended reflection with forward momentum.

Last Thursday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to consider rulemaking to fast-track interconnection for large loads—as long as they agree to be curtailable or colocate with dispatchable generation. Former FERC Commissioner Allison Clements and Duke Ph.D. student Tyler Norris joined the Catalyst podcast to discuss what the proposal actually means for interconnection.

Before data centers come online, they need to have proactive plans to avoid drawing too much energy, said Duke University expert Tim Profeta, who co-authored a February analysis on how load flexibility could help manage rising U.S. energy demand. Regulators and utilities could require data centers to create those plans in exchange for jumping long queues to connect to the grid. “The biggest incentive is speed to interconnect to the grid,” Profeta told The Guardian.

Duke University Ph.D. student Tyler Norris presented to the North Carolina Utilities Commission on the findings of an influential Duke report analyzing how load flexibility could help meet rising electricity demand in the United States. The presentation came during a technical conference hosted by the commission to gather information and recommendations on "how to fairly and efficiently integrate large electric load additions."

Duke Energy plans to burn coal for two to four years longer than previously estimated, citing the state’s growing energy demand—driven by data centers and large manufacturers—among other factors, reports Inside Climate News. A February analysis by Duke University researchers posits that targeted, timed reductions in power demand could ease the strain on the grid without massive power-plant buildouts.

How can new data centers for artificial intelligence be sustainably and responsibly powered on the current U.S. electrical grid? A Duke University panel discussion, held at The Nest Main Stage during Climate Week NYC 2025, delivered insights into how to manage electrical loads flexibly and power the AI future sustainably.

At Climate Week New York City 2025, two themes resonated throughout Duke University’s presence: innovation and connections. Duke Today recapped some of the nearly dozen events across the week that Duke experts—including several from the Nicholas Institute—participated in. The events connected climate to finance, health, oceans, technology and more.

After a whirlwind of panels, side conversations, and informal discussions, Nicholas Institute Director Brian Murray shared the themes and insights that stuck with him from Climate Week NYC 2025. "If there was one unifying thread, it was this: the global energy transition is real, accelerating, and yet deeply uneven," Murray wrote.

During a symposium at Middlebury College, Nicholas Institute executive in residence Tim Profeta warned that U.S. data centers could double their share of national power consumption from 4% to 8% by 2030. Yet Profeta also suggested that AI’s high demand and hyperscaling might accelerate clean power adoption as tech giants promise to invest billions in geothermal, nuclear and storage technologies, reports The Middlebury Campus.

Two law professors are proposing a system called "demand side connect-and-manage" to help electricity markets cope with data center energy demands. The idea is "one of the most important contributions yet toward the re-examination of basic assumptions of U.S. electricity law that’s urgently needed as hyperscale load growth pushes our existing regulatory system beyond its limits," Duke University Ph.D. student Tyler Norris, who co-authored concept-defining work on data center flexibility, told Heatmap News.

A new proposal calls for moving away from requiring the grid to have enough power plant capacity to accommodate all users at all times, and instead treat data centers and other superusers as a separate customer class with special rules and added flexibility, reports Inside Climate News. Even a bit of flexibility could have substantial ramifications for reducing the need to build new power plants, as demonstrated by a February analysis by Duke University researchers.