The United States energy consumption grows each year, but even though energy production has also increased to compensate, it is uncertain whether the U.S. can continue providing enough power.
Over the next 25 years, electricity consumption is projected to rise by roughly 50%. For the U.S. to keep up, power generation will need to climb to at least 5,178 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2050. 2023 alone saw the US using almost 4,100 TWh.
The power the U.S. uses is mainly allocated across various aspects of modern life: approximately 37% goes to transportation (cars, buses, motorcycles, trains, ships, and aircrafts); 35% supports industrial uses like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing; 15% powered residential areas; and the remaining 13% supplied offices, hospitals, schools, malls, stores, restaurants, and other commercial establishments.
Driving the surge in electricity use is the shift in how Americans are using electricity, from electric vehicles (EVs) to AI. EVs can add at least 100 TWh to 185 TWh extra to the national electricity demand within the next five years, while AI servers are using up between 23 and 30 times more energy compared to a regular internet search.
NVIDIA is expected to ship almost 2 million AI server units yearly within the next two years. If that is the case, powering all the servers at full capacity could consume about 86 TWh of electricity per year. AI servers also need cooling systems to keep them functioning, which would add 50% to the energy cost.
What would happen if the U.S. were unable to supply the country with enough electricity? First of all, vehicles will not be able to get fuel immediately, halting public transportation systems. Communication networks will not work properly, causing problems with relaying crucial information.
Then there are supply chains that will need to halt production, causing the delay in the distribution of essential food, medicine, and other necessities. Furthermore, banks will be unable to function properly, disrupting the ability to pay for the things we need.
The power grid that is currently in use is struggling with inefficiencies that are causing us to lose important power. Between 2018 and 2022, at least 5% of the electricity that was transmitted across the U.S. was lost each year.
Specifically, this would be 202.45 TWh of lost energy that could have provided light to more than 202 million homes, cooling for at least 101 million homes, and completely powering no less than 14 million homes.
The best way to provide more power is to rebuild the entire power infrastructure, but that is a complicated task to accomplish. The majority of the U.S. electricity grid was installed between 40 and 70 years ago.
In fact, 70% of transmission lines have been in service for more than 25 years and are approaching the end of their reliable lifespan. This makes them vulnerable to power outages, cyberattacks, and emergencies caused by faulty infrastructure.
Substations, or key control centers within the electrical grid, are understaffed, making them quite prone to threats and attacks. Meanwhile, the power transformers are also aging. The U.S. grid had at least 60 million distribution transformers late last year, but the 2050 power demand could increase the amount by 260%.
Currently, at least 50% of residential transformers are near the end of their life, as most of them are more than 40 years old. Other issues are making it a challenge to improve the nation’s infrastructure. For one, the electrical grid is extensive in size, expanding across almost 480,000 miles, which is enough to loop around the earth about 19 times.
Besides the equipment prices nearly doubling in price over the past six years, replacement would cost nearly $5 trillion. In addition, the process of producing transformers takes years from buying to completion. Interconnection queues preventing necessary power systems from going online also hinder the country’s ability to upgrade the infrastructure.
Despite the challenges, the USA can still safeguard its electricity for the future. One way is to consider alternative ways to gain power, creating quality infrastructure equipment that can last for years, and improving the production timeline.
Speeding up interconnection queues can even double the country’s existing power plants. Investing in an upgraded infrastructure can lead to a future with fewer power outages, better energy costs, resilience against climate-related disasters, access to cleaner energy, and economic gains for the long run.
Source: ELSCO
