Earlier this week, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) published their 10-year reliability assessment for electricity. The findings reveal that more than half of the continent is at elevated or high risk of energy shortfalls over the next 5 to 10 years. The combination of higher electricity demand from increasing electrification efforts and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are the driving forces behind the group’s demand assessment. Summer peak demand is expected to rise by 122 gigawatts (GW) – 15.7% by 2034. Of concern, according to Mark Olson, NERC’s manager of Reliability Assessments, “Announced generator retirements, over the 10-year period total 115 GW and are largely being replaced by variable generation.” Today, variable resources, primarily wind and solar, account for about 12 GW across the continent – by 2034, that is expected to reach 20%. On a bright note, for grid developers, the report identifies 28,275 miles of new high-voltage transmission in various stages of development over the next 10 years – that’s up from 18,675 miles reported in the 2023 assessment.
Urgent Need for Resources over 10-Year Horizon as Electricity Demand Growth Accelerates, 2024 LTRA Finds: https://lnkd.in/dFm_aXAM
2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment – December 2024: https://lnkd.in/dphz4eGR
