This article was originally published in Columbia Riverkeeper.
The rapid proliferation of data centers is behind a new push for gas in the Pacific Northwest, encouraging plans for new power plants and the pipelines that fuel them.
As power providers reckon with projections for new electricity demand, the fossil fuel industry sees a new opportunity. A region that was solidly moving away from reliance on gas is now a potential new market.
The new report, Dirty Secrets: Data Centers Drive Demand for Gas in Oregon, Washington, is a deep dive into the connection between data centers and proposals for new gas infrastructure that would lock in more fossil fuels for decades to come.
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Key Takeaways:
- Washington and Oregon are experiencing unprecedented demand growth from data centers, concentrated along the Columbia River. There are more than five gigawatts (GW) worth of proposed new data centers in counties bordering the Columbia. Load growth of this magnitude exceeds what the region’s utilities are able to meet with current capacity.
- Data centers’ skyrocketing energy demand tips the region’s decarbonization challenge into crisis. Analysis shows that Washington and Oregon will need to increase generation from renewable sources like solar and wind by at least 65 million megawatt hours (MWh) to replace existing gas and coal generation, and power necessary vehicle electrification by 2050. Unrestrained data center expansion could add an additional 65 million MWh of demand on an even faster timeline.
- Gas companies and Pacific Northwest utilities plan to develop new methane gas-fired power generation — and the pipelines to fuel them — to meet data centers’ skyrocketing energy demand. Multiple proposals for on- and off-site generation are being considered in Washington while Williams, a major gas pipeline company, is pursuing two major expansion projects of the Northwest Pipeline to serve the growing data center hubs along the Columbia River.
Leaders in Washington and Oregon face a critical choice: maintain progress towards our climate targets, or capitulate to fossil fuel and Big Tech interests.