Source URL: https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/14/datacenter_power_virginia/
Source: The Register
Title: Datacenter energy demand in bitbarn ‘capital of the world’ Virginia nearly doubled in second half of 2024
Feedly Summary: Dominion Energy already eyeing another 26 GW worth of datacenter demand
Demand for electricity from datacenters in Virginia nearly doubled in the second half of 2024, power supplier Dominion Energy said of the region, which is home to “Datacenter Alley".…
AI Summary and Description: Yes
**Summary:** The text highlights the surging demand for electricity from datacenters in Virginia, where a notable boom is driven by AI workloads. The CEO of Dominion Energy reports a significant increase in datacenter contracts, emphasizing concerns over energy consumption and infrastructure upgrades, which coincide with a predicted doubling of datacenter energy use by 2030.
**Detailed Description:**
The analysis around the burgeoning energy demands of datacenters in Virginia, especially in light of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), provides critical insight for professionals in cloud computing, infrastructure security, and energy management. Here are the key points:
– **Increased Electricity Demand:**
– Virginia’s datacenters are experiencing explosive growth in electricity demand, nearly doubling from July 2024 to December 2024.
– Total demand has surged to approximately 40 gigawatts, up from 21 gigawatts.
– **Dominion Energy’s Role:**
– The energy supplier has connected around 450 datacenters, representing nearly 9 gigawatts of capacity.
– Datacenter operations now constitute over a quarter of Dominion’s sales in Virginia, a trend expected to escalate.
– **Future Predictions:**
– Dominion anticipates sustained growth in datacenter demand, projecting more than 26 gigawatts of expected demand and an additional 5 gigawatts from contractual agreements.
– **Infrastructure Developments:**
– Infrastructure upgrades include the construction of a 500 kilovolt transmission line and a second high-voltage line projected to further enhance energy distribution capabilities by 2027.
– **Renewable Energy Initiatives:**
– The Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project aims to provide 2.6 gigawatts of power, promising to bolster renewable energy contributions to datacenter operations.
– **Concerns About Energy Consumption:**
– Goldman Sachs foresees that datacenter energy usage could more than double by the decade’s end. They warn of potential supply shortages necessitated by grid upgrades to support this increasing demand.
– Notably, there’s a recognition of potential efficiency improvements as advanced AI training models may offer some hope in mitigating excessive energy use.
– **Important Implications for Security Professionals:**
– Increased reliance on datacenters for AI can lead to significant implications for energy security, infrastructure resilience, and overall operational sustainability.
– The backup and redundancy strategies, particularly around renewable energy sources, will be critical to security professionals focusing on creating robust, future-proof datacenter environments.
This comprehensive examination of the evolving landscape of datacenter energy demands highlights the intersection of AI advancements with infrastructure security and energy governance, underscoring the relevance for industry professionals.