US data centres already consume as much electricity as Britain. Data centres share of US peak summer demand is project to increase from 4.1% last year to 8.5% next year. Next year they will require 66GW of continuous draw, roughly equivalent to the electricity used by Germany in Wintertime. Germany uses 24GW minimum load in summer. They are projected to use 15-20% of current US electricity demand by 2030.

Goldman Sachs predicts the increase in power demand for data centres from 2023 to 2030 will be the equivalent of adding another top ten power consuming country.

Alongside various on-grid power plants, old and new, companies have turned to off the grid Gas power: gas pipelines are being re-routed to data centres, where they are fueling gas turbine generators. The backlog for demand for gas turbines from GE Vernova is equivalent to the electricity use of Japan, the fifth largest consumer of electricity in the world.

Morgan Stanley predicts the US will be short of electricity by six New York Cities by 2028 and around 18 New York Cities by 2029.

Alongside environental harms, and leaving aside potential harms from AI, this surely leads to higher prices for consumers.

High fuel prices and cheap Chinese technology are accelerating Nigeria’s shift to solar, transforming how people shop, spend and live.

Aussie here. Something I don’t think gets enough attention outside of Australia: roughly a third of our homes now have rooftop solar, and on sunny spring days it’s pushing grid demand in some states to record lows around midday. South Australia has had periods where rooftop solar alone covers basically all local demand.

https://www.pv-magazine-australia.com/2026/09/02/rooftop-solar-meets-99-9-of-sa-electricity-demand/

It’s created some strange problems:

• wholesale prices regularly going negative in the middle of the day
• grid operators needing new powers to switch off home systems remotely during emergencies so the grid stays stable
• the evening peak becoming the real challenge once the sun drops, which is pushing a big wave of home batteries off the back of government subsidies

As someone who’s just a regular homeowner-in-waiting rather than an energy expert, I’m curious what people here think:

1. Is the “duck curve” problem solvable mainly with batteries, or does it need something bigger, like grid-scale storage and pricing reform?
2. Are other countries with growing rooftop solar (Germany, California, the Netherlands) seeing the same thing yet?
3. Should homeowners still be encouraged to install solar if midday exports are becoming worth close to nothing?

Would love to hear from people working in the industry.

The Better Data Center Project, along with environmental advocacy groups, support cleaner energy alternatives to diesel fuel generators.

Hi I'm a final year software engineering student looking for an internship for my final year project, I contacted a renewable energy company that has currently a solar project in my region and they responded positively and planned a call.

My question is what kind of projects should suggest to make for them ? I know it depends on their needs, but I'm personally interested in making something that's data-related, maybe a tool that predicts something for them. But since I'm not really knowledgeable about this sector Idk what kind of tools they might need.

Can you suggest something?

Musk’s politics hadn’t seeped into Tesla. Then he axed its eco car of the future. Once outspoken on climate change, Musk now argues the risk has been overstated. Some now question his commitment to Tesla's original mission. The company’s mission now appears to be “enriching Elon Musk.”