“Energy dominance” is replacing “energy transition” as the driving theme in global energy policy. The rise of AI, cryptocurrency, and the onshoring of manufacturing is fueling surging electricity demand - straining grids and accelerating the need for innovative power solutions.
What’s happening
- “Energy Dominance” is replacing “Energy Transition”- especially in the United States.
- The change is not mere shift in the political winds - it reflects a growing understanding worldwide that the digital future is an electric future.
- Low and zero carbon solutions remain in demand, but developers are looking beyond wind and solar.
Why
- Until recently, improvements in energy efficiency and grid operations largely offset the growing power demands of the Internet Age.
- The rise of AI and the continued development of cryptocurrency are supercharging the need for new electric capacity.
- Onshoring of manufacturing and increased electrification are also placing increased demand on aging infrastructure.
- Evolving geopolitical dynamics are challenging nations’ efforts to maintain stable and adequate energy supplies.
Why it matters
- Electricity is an essential service, needed for day-to-day life, business, entertainment, industry, and technological advancement.
- Years of slow growth and deferred expenses have left electric grids across the globe ill-prepared for a rapid increase in demand.
- This creates opportunities for advances in technology to fill the gap with innovative and novel solutions, particularly in the form of embedded generation and microgrids.
- And challenges, as novel projects do not fit neatly into existing regulatory boxes, and face legal hurdles in getting permitted, approved, subsidized, if eligible, and developed.
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