Chart of the week

In our last Chart of the Week before the new year, we take a step back and survey the key challenges facing the electricity grid that we’ve been discussing all year. On the right:

1. It is hard to estimate the scale of uncertainty about the effect AI will have on the American economy, and the level of power it is required.

2. Despite flat demand, electricity prices have been on the rise over the past two decades, especially in states with renewable mandates.

3. The U.S. has failed to demonstrate the ability to effectively build any nuclear generation capacity since 1990. 

4. The natural gas turbines order book is backlogged, and it will be a challenge to get more turbines onto the grid beyond what is planned. 

How the U.S. will decide to meet these challenges over the next year, and the success or failure of those efforts, will determine the reliability and security of America’s electricity for the next decade. For all of our sakes, let us hope wisdom perseveres.