"If policies stay the same as they currently are-with attacks on renewable energy being embedded into regulatory regimes and few significant national policies restricting carbon emissions from power plants-we could see between a 19 and 29 percent increase in CO 2 emissions from US power plants tied just to the energy needs of data centers over the next 10 years."
"There are answers, though: Bringing back tax credits for wind and solar, which were political targets in last year's One Big Beautiful Bill, would cut CO 2 emissions by more than 30 percent over the next decade, even if data centers eat up a significant chunk of new demand for electricity. They could also make wholesale electricity costs go down by about 4 percent by 2050, after a slight rise over the next decade."
"Power plants are the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US, making up about a quarter of the country's overall emissions. Last year, emissions from the US power sector rose slightly, marking the first increase since 2023; commercial buildings like data centers, a separate analysis released last week from the Rhodium Group found, were the main drivers of that demand."
US electricity demand could rise 60 to 80 percent through 2050, with data centers accounting for more than half of that increase by the end of this decade. If current policies persist, data center electricity needs could drive a 19 to 29 percent rise in CO2 emissions from US power plants over the next ten years. Restoring federal tax credits for wind and solar could reduce CO2 emissions by over 30 percent in the next decade while lowering wholesale electricity costs about 4 percent by 2050 after a modest near-term increase. Power plants contribute roughly a quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions, and recent sector emissions rose for the first time since 2023, driven largely by commercial demand from data centers.
Read at WIRED
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