Expert tells committee data centers and renewables are straining the grid; urges more gas-fired capacity and transmission investment

An energy expert told a Kansas legislative committee that rapid growth in data centers, combined with a heavy reliance on wind and solar and recent retirements of coal and some nuclear plants, has tightened reserve margins and will require new, quickly developed natural-gas generation and major transmission investment to maintain reliability.

The presenter, identified in the hearing as a professor emeritus at the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University, told the committee that about 88% of generation seeking interconnection to the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is an intermittent resource and that SPP’s incremental thermal share is far lower — roughly 11% in broad regional data and nearer 6% in Kansas. “Over 88% of generation seeking interconnection to the SPP is an intermittent resource,” he said, adding that “that has been fine over the last several years, but it can be a challenge” as demand rises.

The pr…