This workstream explores the impact of data centers on the grid while developing regulatory and technological tools to enhance grid reliability and efficiency.

Research Questions:

• Does the United States have sufficient generation, transmission, and distribution systems to meet future electricity demand scenarios? Does the architecture of the current U.S. electricity system create local constraints that are imperceptible from the national level?
• What factors affect the electricity demand of hyperscale data centers? What may drive demand to the upper end of predicted ranges, and, conversely, what factors might decrease that range?
• What options are available to incentivize regulators to ensure grid sustainability as large new localized electricity loads are added? What are the technical, economic, and political costs and benefits of these options?

Examining the strengths and weaknesses of potential energy policies and regulations across metrics.

Research Questions:

• What technical and regulatory mechanisms are available, proposed, and/or implemented to address local and national electricity constraints? How might growing data center energy needs reshape these policies?
• How might the rapid increase in electricity demand due to data centers affect efforts to expand the grid, while simultaneously incorporating low carbon considerations?
• How can policymakers leverage increased data center energy demand to drive a green energy pathway? How might operators and developers be incentivized to install new, greener generation capacity into their systems?
• What are the political, economic, and environmental strengths and weaknesses data center siting options and, thus, their impacts on the operation of the local grid?

Evaluating the viability of nuclear energy as a solution for data center energy demand.

Research Questions:

• What is the status of corporate efforts to nuclear reactors to power data centers? What new technological or economic options may be available?
• Under what conditions could corporate investments accelerate the deployment of advanced nuclear reactors?
• How could policy facilitate the use of nuclear energy to meet this energy demand? What challenges stand in the way?
• How can policy be used to overcome historical limitations on nuclear energy scalability?

Assessing the role of data centers and their energy systems on international security, trade, and competition and vice versa.

Research Questions:

• How are data center markets developing in United States, China, the European Union, the Middle East, India, and East Asia?
• How might these jurisdictions seek to meet growing regional energy demands?
• Does energy access provide China with an advantage for global AI and technological leadership? What are the implications, should this be the case?
• What policy levers—and constraints—do the United States and other jurisdictions possess to shape data centers siting decisions? What elements of international competition (and cooperation) may occur?
• How will global data center distributions impact state power, national security, and the international rules and norms that will govern the future of AI and other technologies?