Everything really is bigger in Texas.
The state’s primary grid operator reported this month that large power consumers will need 225 gigawatts of electricity over the next five years. Almost three-quarters of that new demand would come from data centers.
Two things stand out about that number.
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First, it is almost absurdly large. The nation’s largest wholesale power market, serving 67 million people from Washington, D.C., to Chicago, has a peak demand of about 160 gigawatts. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which serves about 90 percent of the state, now tops out around 85 gigawatts.
