A report co-authored by Abe Silverman, an assistant research scholar with the Ralph O’Connor Sustainable Energy Institute (ROSEI), that aims to provide state policymakers with an understanding of how data centers interact with our electric grids was recently released.

“A State Playbook for Managing Data Center-Driven Load Growth,” which was co-authored by Silverman, Suzanne Glatz of Glatz Energy Consulting LL and Mahala Lavis M.A. International Relations at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, focuses on practical solutions for addressing the opportunities and challenges associated with this burgeoning industry. It attempts to provide policymakers a pragmatic approach to balancing economic development opportunities with the need for new investment in the transmission and generation sectors, while preserving energy affordability, reliability, and clean energy goals.

Key challenges for state policy makers addressed in the document include:

• How do we enable solutions that can overcome “time-to-power” challenges to achieve the economic development benefits associated with data center without saddling ratepayers with unnecessary risk?
• How do we ensure that data centers pay their fair share of transmission costs?
• Can we manage the risk that we over-invest in energy infrastructure if data center load does not materialize as projected?
• How do we ensure that supplies of energy remain adequate and affordable in the face of data center expansion?
• How do states with clean energy policies ensure data center expansion is handled in a manner consistent with those policies?
• How do we account for the asymmetry of the risk profile, where data centers have little risk associated with bullish forecasts, while consumers bear significant financial risk?
• How do policymakers responsibly secure the economic development benefits associated with data centers?

You can read the report in full below.