The
New Golden Age
of Electricity
The
New Golden Age
of Electricity
The New Golden Age
of Electricity
The
New Golden Age
of Electricity
The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 ushered in the Golden Age of Electricity, spurring rural communities to organize cooperatives and build their own power infrastructure. The U.S. is on the cusp of the next energy paradigm shift as demand from data centers and automated manufacturing in rural areas is outpacing power supply. This New Golden Age of Electricity digital hub looks through four lenses at how to address rising energy scarcity and secure future power supply for rural communities.
Power supply
Emerging technologies
Today’s cycle of power plant development differs from previous periods, with evolving large-load requirements, shifting policy factors, and upstream supply limitations influencing technology choices. This section reviews the main generation technologies and examines factors likely to affect future electricity capacity expansion.
Natural gas (coming later)
The next wave of power plants
Nuclear power (coming later)
SMR or traditional build?
Emerging technologies (coming later)
New generation for the next generation
Electricity customers
Balancing the grid
No longer just passive participants, electricity consumers are stepping up as active contributors in grid management. This section reviews the consumer’s changing role and involvement with distributed generating resources.
A utility’s guide to navigating data center execution risk (coming later)
Financing considerations
Rate designs and more
State regulators typically require costs to match the benefits customers receive, a difficult task when projects span multiple utilities or regions. This section looks at the complexities of deciding who pays for the grid.
CoBank’s guidebook to serving large loads (coming later)
Markets and policy
Grid operation and federal regulation
Grid operators have warned federal regulators that outdated market rules cannot handle the explosive demand from data centers. This section takes stock of how the markets and policy will meet the moment and shape utility decision making.