The United States has invested a record of $ 338 billion in the energy transition last year, according to a new report, but that was not quite sufficient to reduce global carbon emissions from the country.
Solar took the lead, adding 49 gigawatts of new electric generation capacities in 2024, much more than any other technology. Solar and wind together now represent almost a quarter of electricity demand and almost 10% of all energy consumption in the United States, said the reportPosted Thursday by the Bloombergnef and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy.
At the same time, the demand for natural gas increased by 1.3%, enough to push us more semi-old American carbon emissions. The increase was mainly driven by industrial users and power plants that burn natural gas, mainly to generate power or heat.
The new report landed at a time when the United States is at a crossroads. Country carbon emissions have been down by almost 16% since 2005, with emissions related to power down more than 40% during the same period. The United States has also become more productive with the energy it uses, generating 2.3% economic production plus last year for a given amount of energy consumed.
At the same time, Electricity demand should increase sharply in the coming years. According to a report According to grid strategies, the United States could use 15.8% electricity in addition to 2029. That technology provides that electricity could determine the country’s impact on climate change for decades future.
The soil demand for data centers is the largest engine of the new electricity request. Technological companies have invested in new massive data centers to feed cloud operations and feed their AI ambitions. The pace of additions has accelerated to the point that half of all new AI servers could be underfounded by 2027.
These forecasts have pushed technological companies to secure electricity sources for the years to come. Microsoft, Google and Amazon have all announced significant investments in nuclear energy, supporting startups like Kairos And X-Energy All in the end of old nuclear reactors, because they do not directly release carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions.
They also continue to add renewable power to their wallets. Only this year, to meet the growing requirements of its data centers swallowed in power, Amazon has concluded agreements with energy producers to add 476 megawattsWhile Meta bought 200 megawatts In an agreement and 595 megawatts in another. Transactions have been dominated by solar energy, reflecting the national trend. This is partly because the technology is inexpensive and the new solar farms are quick to put online. For toasted technological companies, cost and speed.
Consumption concerned about efficiency could help technology giants to eliminate more power from the network without needing considerably more capacity. A study published last week suggests that Subtle adjustments – as the planning of computer tasks in moments of the lower power demand or travel to regions with more capacity – could unlock 76 gigawatts of margin in the United States which represents up to 10% of the demand for power of power nationwide point.
Intelligent adaptations like these could be necessary if the United States wants to keep the pace of world competitors. Despite record energy transition expenses, the United States is still lagging behind in China in the deployment of capital. When the United States spent 1.3% of GDP for transition last year, China spent 4.4%.
