The potential for flexible data centers

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Mar 27, 2025

Tyler Norris, a PhD candidate at Duke University and former VP of Development at Cypress Creek Renewables, dives into the fascinating world of data center flexibility. He highlights the paradox that while data centers are often seen as inflexible, there's potential for them to support grid stability. Tyler shares insights from a study revealing that small load curtailments could free up 98 gigawatts of capacity. They discuss innovative strategies like colocating power generation and optimizing operations, illustrating how data centers can actively participate in demand response.

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INSIGHT

Data Center Load Growth

AI-specialized data centers will likely be the largest driver of U.S. electricity load growth.
They may represent up to 44% of all load growth over the next five to seven years.

INSIGHT

Conflicting Narratives on Flexibility

Regulators receive conflicting information about data center flexibility.
Some claim they are inflexible, while others suggest potential flexibility.

INSIGHT

Grid Capacity with Curtailment

The U.S. grid could accommodate substantial additional data center load with minimal curtailment (0.5%).
This could add up to 98 GW of new data center capacity, equivalent to three to five Project Stargates.

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Tyler Norris says regulators have been getting two different stories. On one side, they’ve been hearing that data centers are largely inflexible loads. On the other, last year the U.S. Department of Energy recommended data center flexibility, and EPRI launched its DCFlex initiative to demonstrate the same.

So he and a few other researchers wanted to know, What’s the potential for data center flexibility? And what benefits could it have system-wide?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Tyler, a PhD candidate at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and former vice president of development at Cypress Creek Renewables. In a recent study, Tyler and his co-authors found there’s enough spare capacity in the existing U.S. grid to accommodate up to 98 gigawatts of new industrial load (enough for multiple Project Stargates), if that load can curtail 0.5% of annual load to avoid adding to system peaks. Shayle and Tyler unpack the study’s findings, including:

How much data centers would have to curtail and how often
Options for shaving peaks, like colocating or leasing generation, spatial flexibility, and deferring or front loading training runs
Speeding up interconnection if the data center is able to curtail load
How bridge power could transition to peak shaving backup generation

Recommended resources

Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University: Rethinking Load Growth: Assessing the Potential for Integration of Large Flexible Loads in US Power Systems

Latitude Media: EPRI takes its data center flexibility project global

Latitude Media: Who’s really paying to power Big Tech’s AI ambitions?

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is executive editor.

Catalyst is brought to you by EnergyHub. EnergyHub helps utilities build next-generation virtual power plants that unlock reliable flexibility at every level of the grid. See how EnergyHub helps unlock the power of flexibility at scale, and deliver more value through cross-DER dispatch with their leading Edge DERMS platform, by visiting energyhub.com.

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