At Enverus, we are uniquely positioned to meet the growing demand for data centers driven by advancements in artificial intelligence. As a company, Enverus not only relies on these large-scale facilities to power our own data-driven software solutions, but we also play an influential role in helping data center developers bring these facilities to fruition via our software solutions.
As we continue to build the infrastructure necessary for our data-driven society to thrive, it’s essential to address the environmental impact of the rapid growth in data centers. Constructing and operating data centers requires immense amount of both power and water, significantly contributing to their large carbon footprints. Both mandated and society-driven environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations compel data center operators to responsibly manage their energy consumption and contribute positively to the grid.
Even without federal incentives to drive carbon emission reductions, companies continue to face strong pressure to meet ESG goals through other means. For example, the State of California implemented the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (CCDAA), requiring companies to disclose their Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. Corporate responsibility to abide by their own goals and those of state-regulations will impact how we power data centers. We have already seen companies such as Google, Microsoft and Meta rely on the use of renewable energy for their data center deployments to continue to strive towards their own corporate goals.
When it comes to data center expansion in our sustainability-driven society, the question is, Can we power these large load facilities with renewable power rather than fossil fuels to continue to meet carbon-reduction targets? Traditionally, these facilities have relied on stable power from power grids driven primarily by natural gas, coal and nuclear generators which provide the consistent energy required to keep servers running. But as demand for data centers surges, can we meet this growing need while continuing the transition to renewable energy sources? By revamping the narrative around how we power data center facilities, we tackle the need for immense data-drive load demand without losing sight of the clean energy transition.
Is There Enough Renewable Energy to Power the Data Center Expansion?
As illustrated by Figure 1, the majority of power in the U.S. today comes from natural gas and coal plants with 750,000+ MW of generating capacity. Renewable energy sources are enhancing the grid, creating this shift towards more clean energy sources to power America. As we look ahead to the planned capacity within our interconnection queues, renewable assets combined with storage will power our grid.
Moreover, utilities are setting steep goals that continue to influence the clean energy transition. Based on integrated resource plans (IRPs), documents directly from the utilities on their plans to alter their power mix up to 30-years in the future, utilities across the country have plans to increase the availability of solar, wind and storage in place of decommissioned traditional assets.
Figure 2 illustrates the future trajectory of IRP technologies, showcasing what is slated for commissioning and decommissioning in the coming decades. Despite varying narratives, coal plants are no longer part of new capacity additions and are steadily being decommissioned, while natural gas plays a diminishing role as the focus shifts to renewable energy projects like wind, solar and energy storage. This shift highlights the growing commitment to clean energy, even as natural gas and coal remain the backbone of today’s power generation, bridging the transition to a sustainable future.
So, if the first question in siting your asset keyed in with renewable energy is, Does the renewable power exist? The answer is increasingly, yes.
Finding Reliable Power During the Clean Energy Transition
The next question you may ask, How can I trust these renewable sources will sustain the constant power that I need for my plant?
It’s true: the sun sets at night and wind is not always blowing. As we shift toward renewable energy, finding reliable power can be a challenge. Energy storage offers a solution to the challenge of inconsistent power that results from renewables. Particularly storage systems that are co-located with a renewable asset such as a solar or wind farm. The co-location of these assets allows for the solar or wind farm to provide power to the storage asset when the resources are available, while the storage asset can store that power to consistently provide it to your data center.
There are more than 1000 MWs of operating co-located storage projects alongside solar or wind in the U.S. today and more than 905,000 MWs planned to come online in the next 10 years. Leveraging these co-located facilities to meet the round-the-clock demand of data centers could be just the answer to powering our growing load.
Withdrawal Capabilities – Effective Grid
The next thing a data center developer may ask is, Where is the power available to offtake from the grid?
To do so, it’s best to consider the available withdraw capability throughout the grid. You must find a point of interconnection that can safely transfer the proper MWs from the grid to power your site.
In assessing the average historical withdrawal capability at all buses across the utility territories captured in Figure 4, it’s clear that utilities such as ComEd, CenterPoint and Oncor have the highest withdrawal capability overall, as well as highest minimum withdrawal as well, addressing the fact that these capacities can change overtime. These areas are likely more reliable than others where the AWC may be high, but the minimum offtake is lower, representing potential fluctuations in power availability.
If we specifically focus on those utility territories in Texas, there are more than 300 buses across the grid that have had more than 1000 MWs of available withdrawal capacity over the past year.
Within this analysis, we can identify buses located within 1 mile of co-located storage and renewable assets. This narrows the focus to five substations within the Oncor and CenterPoint territories that are near planned or operational co-located storage-solar or storage-wind plants. These substations also demonstrate an available withdrawal capacity exceeding 1,000 MW on average over the past year and a half, making them ideal candidates for reliable interconnection.
To further understand the power mix at each of these substations, we can dive deep into what is currently and planned to interconnect. The Bell County East Switching Station, which has fluctuated between 2000 and 4000 available MWs of withdrawal capability over the past year, is mainly interconnected to solar and storage plants. There are more than 1000 MWs of operating solar and storage at this point of interconnection already, with an additional 1,989 MWs planned over the next few years.
Finding the Best Pricing in the Clean Energy Transition
Evidently, the offtake capacity backed by renewable sources is readily available or soon to be within our grid. The subsequent challenge in taking the leap into a clean power backed load center is understanding what you will need to pay for said power. To find the cheapest power, it’s crucial to focus on pricing nodes with not only the lowest average locational marginal prices (LMPs) over the past five years but also the lowest minimum daily LMPs during that period. This ensures we are focusing on areas where the power prices are the lowest and again, have the power to support high load demands. By assessing pricing alongside these other factors, you can ensure the economic success of leveraging renewable power sources for your facility.
Moreover, you can leverage these pricing trends to inform potential power purchase agreements with the renewable energy companies operating the nearby plants. By signing long-term contracts with the operators of renewable assets, you can ensure more consistent pricing, even as grid pricing fluctuates overtime. Referencing historical pricing trends can help you decipher how to format those contracts effectively in the interest of your business.
Fiber Optic Access
If we focus on all those low-priced points around buses with the available withdrawal capacity to support a data center facility, that are receiving power from renewable sources, we must also consider the connectivity to the network. With fiber optics, we can see that the Sweetwater East substation in the Oncor territory sits within 1 mile of a fiber optic cable. This station seems ideal based on its proximity to renewable, reliable capacity, ideal electricity pricing and fiber optics. The last piece we must consider is the suitability of the land.
Suitable Land
Having identified this site near Abilene, Texas, strategically located near a fiber optic line, with the needed offtake capacity, access to renewable energy and promising power prices, the next consideration is the suitability of the land. There are 9,518 acres of land around this one substation that all sit adjacent to a fiber optic connection.
If we consider restraints to building a data center facility such as topography, environmental hazards such as wetlands, existing infrastructure such as oil and gas wells, the parcels that sit around this substation have a total of more than 4,500 buildable acres of land. Within that, we can start to visualize the pockets of land in green in Figure 12 that could potentially host a data center facility.
Since Abilene is in an area of Texas that is prone to hurricanes and extreme weather events, it’s key to consider how that may impact the safety of a data center site. In the input to the buildable analysis referenced in Figure 12, 100-Year Flood Zone were included. In the output, there is no presence of flood zones within the given area, meaning that it is potentially safe from the dangers of extreme weather flooding. Considering all environmental hazards at a site, not only helps reduce costs and permitting concerns, but can also ensure long-term project resilience.
With an ideal site in view, we can begin our landowner outreach to secure land opportunities directly based on each owner’s available and suitable land.
Conclusion
As data center developers face increasing responsibility to integrate clean energy into their facilities, the tools to make informed, efficient decisions are essential. PRISM provides a comprehensive solution to navigate the complexities of clean energy integration, enabling developers to identify reliable, economically feasible power sources with precision and speed.
Take the example of the site in Abilene, Texas. Within minutes, PRISM identified buildable land near a substation capable of supporting a large load facility. This substation not only meets the capacity requirements but is also situated adjacent to a fiber optic line—critical for data center operations—and is surrounded by a strong presence of clean energy sources.
With PRISM, developers can streamline the process of finding ideal locations, balancing cost, reliability and sustainability to meet the demands of the energy transition. It’s not just about locating power; it’s about empowering data center developers to create solutions that align with a cleaner, more sustainable future.
