Great to see our subscribers in NYC last week to talk about #demandgrowth in PJM. A special thanks to the Evercore team, esp. Guilherme Musa & Joseph Salvatore, CFA for hosting us.
A lot of great discussion about whether the hype around data center load growth is real, and more takeaways than I can capture here. Just a few:
📈 PJM has consistently and notoriously overpredicted demand in the past, leading to some skepticism on their incredible 2.2% CAGR forecast published in 2024. However, since 2022, PJM has continually adjusted their forecast upward.
🌎 Northern Virginia remains the global data center hotspot. The counties & Dominion are investing significantly to enable further interconnections in the next few years, but as power prices creep upward, we could see growth move elsewhere.
🔋 Participants remain cautious about the logistical (permitting, safety, construction, business, etc.) challenges of data center supplying their power behind the meter - but we had a discussion about everything from BTM solar + storage, to gas, to SMRs.
Great discussion - looking forward to a condensed version of the conversation in our upcoming public webinar.
Aurora Energy Research - North America
Electricity load growth and data centers have become a major focal point for investors in power generation. Last week Evercore hosted Aurora Energy Research - North America's event "Load Growth in PJM: Data Centers, Electric Vehicles and Heat Pumps". The event featured representatives from key market participants including project finance banks, infrastructure funds and strategic investors across both renewable and traditional power generation as well as a presentation from Aurora Energy Research. #energy
It's impressive to see the completion of the Plus Power Sierra Estrella project, a significant milestone in energy storage for Arizona! Congratulations to the team for achieving this ahead of schedule and contributing to a more reliable and efficient power infrastructure. Keep up the great work