Accelerating Technology Solutions Together
Rob Chapman is EPRI Senior Vice President for Energy Delivery and Customer Solutions.
One of the biggest stories over the past twelve months has been the growing power needs, driven by data centers/AI, transport electrification, industrial onshoring, and digitalization. EPRI has framed the rapid pace of change as a transformation.
We’re at an inflection point, as society will need more affordable, reliable electricity to power our economy, while simultaneously pursuing low-carbon targets. As with other shifts in the power industry over the years, the answer involves collaboration and navigating the changing energy landscape together, albeit at an accelerated pace.
In 2024, we also saw more extreme weather and climate, a burgeoning nuclear renaissance, and increased grid planning to meet electric vehicle charging needs. EPRI has been at the forefront of these and many other issues and is aggressively working toward finding technology solutions that will ultimately benefit society.
Preparing for the Future of AI
EPRI has been among leading organizations working to address the surging power needs of data centers. In May, EPRI released a frequently cited analysis that found that electricity usage by hyperscalers more than doubled between 2017 and 2021, and is expected to increase, with data centers projected to consume five to nine percent of U.S. electricity generation annually by 2030, up from four percent today.