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 professor said the nation faces a near-term need for dispatchable capacity because many coal plants and some nuclear units that historically provided baseload have retired, and demand pressures are increasing from industrial electrification, petrochemical processing, and the rapid expansion of large data centers. He noted data centers can operate 8,760 hours per year and often require highly reliable, always-available power.

Committee members pressed the presenter on specific risks and policy options. Representative Bergquist asked what must change to avoid a repeat of the reliability failures seen during events such as Winter Storm Uri; the presenter emphasized the need for better coordination between electric and natural-gas infrastructure and for maintaining a healthy natural-gas industry and associated pipeline infrastructure. Representative Robinson asked whether growth forecasts will level off; the presenter said growth is likely to slow eventually, but that most of the near-term build-out will occur within about five years and that efficiency gains could moderate long-term demand.

On costs and transmission, the presenter described decades of capital investment in transmission and said Department of Energy studies have estimated incremental transmission investments on the order of roughly $500 billion nationally to support high renewable penetrations. He said SPP’s recent budget showed investment many times its 10-year average and warned that regional transmission needs can rise quickly as renewable shares increase.

The presenter and several legislators discussed economic development trade-offs. He said data centers can generate large property-tax revenues without creating heavy demands for local services, but noted they are not major long-term local employers compared with manufacturing plants. He urged caution in crafting special utility tariffs or contract terms that might advantage data centers over comparable large industrial loads.

The presenter recommended a more balanced, “all of the above” approach for the near term — including rapid development of thermal (natural-gas) capacity where needed, while continuing to pursue renewable resources and efficiency. He cautioned that some longer-term technologies (for example, hydrogen or small modular nuclear reactors) are not available quickly enough to meet immediate capacity shortfalls.

The hearing included technical questions about siting, water needs for cooling, and whether coal still appears in interconnection queues (the presenter clarified the queue figures refer only to incremental interconnection requests, not existing plants). No formal committee action was taken on the presentation.

The presenter concluded by offering to share his slides and contact information with committee members.