{"id":616524,"date":"2026-06-10T22:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T22:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=616524"},"modified":"2026-06-10T22:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T22:50:00","slug":"goldman-flags-tightening-power-grid-in-texas-amid-rapid-data-center-growth-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=616524","title":{"rendered":"Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Goldman shared some of their thoughts on the tightening of power markets as the decade comes to a close. ERCOT\u2019s own Preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast now sees baseline peak-summer demand<\/strong> (excluding most medium and large loads) growing at a 5.2% average annual rate<\/strong> from 2026 through 2030. This is already well above the 3.4% realized average of 2022-2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Layer in the medium- and large-scale additions, overwhelmingly data centers plus crypto and industrial electrification, and the forecast explodes to 31% average annual peak-summer growth<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Put that in national context and Texas alone would account for 39% of total U.S. peak-summer power demand<\/strong> by 2030, up from just 11% last year, assuming the rest of the country continues its slower recent trajectory.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Goldman analysts flag a 200 GW queue of large-load applications sitting with the grid operator. Even if only 10% of that queue<\/strong> ultimately energizes, it would still lift the region\u2019s demand growth rate above 9% against an expected 6% annual increase in effective generation capacity over the same window. That math points to a high probability of a critically tight market unless supply-side responses accelerate sharply in the next few years.<\/p>\n

A quick look at Goldman’s recent nuclear report<\/a> for last month shows the large grid-scale reactor industry is still sleeping<\/strong> in the US\u2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier we highlighted<\/a> ERCOT\u2019s disclosure that multiple clusters of proposed hyperscale loads and crypto facilities failed voltage ride-through testing. Four of those groups alone could shed more than 5,000 MW (Boston-sized chunks<\/strong> of demand) during routine transmission disturbances. That is the demand-side mirror of the Spain blackout dynamics we referenced, where rapid disconnections and inadequate reactive power support turned a manageable event into a cascading failure.<\/p>\n

ERCOT is not alone in upgrading its outlook. PJM lifted its 10-year average annual peak-summer demand growth forecast from 3.1% to 3.6% earlier this year. MISO raised its 20-year view from 1.6% to 2% in April, more than doubling its realized 2022-2025 average of 0.8%.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

These changes reflect the same AI-driven commercial load surge now visible in the data. Goldman shows the U.S. commercial sector posting the strongest year-over-year power demand growth in January-February at +1.8%, while industrial and residential lagged. Nationally, data-center capacity additions are accelerating, with Texas, Virginia, Arizona, Ohio, Indiana, and Georgia leading the way on a year-over-year basis.<\/p>\n

On the generation side, the picture is mixed. Solar continues its seasonal ramp with solid year-over-year capacity additions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Natural gas-fired output has been responsive. But nuclear has been weaker<\/strong> due to maintenance outages, hydro is suffering from drought across more than half the country, and coal remains under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Construction employment tied to data-center and utility work is rising sharply, which is welcome, but employment is not the same as energized megawatts and reinforced lines.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We noted flags starting to pop up regarding the lack of construction industry manpower back in October\u2026<\/p>\n

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And then there is the issue of where the US gets 300,000 engineers to build all this missing power supply by 2030 https:\/\/t.co\/a18crhqZ4v<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/tinW8SHDwM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And we also noted other analysts starting to recognize<\/a> the same body count issue \u2013 the lack of engineers and other skilled laborers to build the energy generating side of the grid.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nWed, 06\/10\/2026 – 18:50<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth Goldman shared some of their thoughts on the tightening of power markets as the decade comes to a close. ERCOT\u2019s own Preliminary Long-Term Load Forecast now sees baseline peak-summer demand (excluding most medium and large loads) growing at a 5.2% average annual rate… Continue reading Goldman Flags Tightening Power Grid In Texas Amid Rapid Data Center Growth<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":616517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,10,21,12,11,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-616524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancel-culture","category-censorship","category-civil-liberties","category-election-integrity","category-equal-justice","category-free-speech","category-religious-freedom","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=616524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/616517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=616524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=616524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=616524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}