Analyze the market sentiments & identify the trend reversal for strategic decisions. Get to know where the market bulls are investing to identify the right stocks. The wide band of 13–27 GW range is due to complexity of demand estimations because of the diverse usage patterns across regions, differences in climate, socio‑economic conditions, and cooking habits, Panigrahy said.
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Multiple records were broken in the June–July heatwave, including mainland Portugal’s record of 46.6°C. The French nuclear fleet has been impacted the most, with all but one of the 18 facilities experiencing some type of capacity reduction. Power plants along the Garonne, Loire and Rhône rivers were impacted the most, with e.g. the Golfech plant having to shut down completely. While multiple reductions were related to scheduled maintenance, at least 7 GW of offline capacity on July 1–2 was marked as “Forced” by the transmission system operator (TSO).
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Comprehensive data summaries, comparisons, analysis, and projections integrated across all energy sources. But with “astronomical” data center demand, switching them off didn’t make sense to him. Under the agreement with the state, the plants will have more time to meet new water pollution standards to comply with the new federal rules, or face fines of $150 to $1,500 a day. Baker credited the extension of the two plants to the state pulling out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, which was part of a spending package negotiated by lawmakers and signed by Shapiro in November.
We expect MISO solar generation to grow from 31 BkWh in 2025 to 46 BkWh in 2027. “New electricity consumers such as data centers can actually apply downward pressure on rates by providing utilities more sources of revenue while spreading fixed costs over a larger customer base,” the report says. U.S. data centers consumed more than 4% of the country’s total electricity in 2023, according to the MIT Energy Initiative.
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The Aurora also uses metallic uranium fuel pellets, which are denser, have better thermal resistance, and are cheaper to fabricate than the uranium dioxide fuel pellets used in conventional reactors. It also recycles its fuel in a closed loop, allowing it to last roughly a decade without refueling. Rising electricity demand—potentially tripling—along with new-age consumption (EVs, data http://www.lexa.ru/security-alerts/msg00890.html centers) adds durable visibility, the report added.
The demand trends, combined with outages of thermal power plants (described in the following section), led to a dramatic rise of electricity prices. Compared to the same baseline day of June 24, during the heatwave average daily prices grew by 15% in Spain, 106% in Poland, 108% in France and 175% in Germany – in the latter case almost tripling. During peak evening hours on July 1, prices reached over 400 €/MWh in Germany and over 470 €/MWh in Poland.
This temperature increase had a major impact on electricity demand – which grew by up to 6% in Germany, 9% in France and 14% in Spain, when comparing a Tuesday before (June 24) and during the heatwave (July 1). Peak demand grew as well, by 12% in France and 15% in Spain, and 5% in Germany and Poland. Authorities have pushed thermal plants to operate at full capacity to avoid shortages. At the same time, several states are reporting localised stress, with rising risks of outages as equipment faces overheating and peak loads. ACES ETF offers exposure to renewable energy companies increasingly tied to data center growth.
U.S. utility companies are planning to invest $1.4 trillion over the next five years to update the nation’s ailing power grid as the data center boom intensifies the need for electricity. More frequent and intense heatwaves are not just a weather story — they are reshaping energy demand patterns, increasing reliance on cooling, and forcing policymakers to rethink long-term power planning. Beyond immediate grid management, the surge in electricity demand reflects a broader trend. India, already among the world’s largest electricity consumers, is experiencing the combined effects of economic growth, urbanisation, and climate change. Officials estimate that India’s peak power demand could climb to 270 GW or more in the coming months as summer intensifies.
In fact, June 2025 was the highest EU solar electricity production month on record – 45 TWh, a 22% increase from June 2024 (37 TWh). This increase would mark the first time since 2007 that power demand has risen for four years in a row and the strongest four-year growth period since 2000. The driving factor behind this surge is increasing demand from large computing centers. U.S. generation fueled by coal increased by 13% in 2025 to 731 BkWh due to cold temperatures in some regions and because of relatively higher natural gas prices. With existing policies and scheduled retirements planned by plant operators, we expect that coal plant retirements will lead to U.S. coal-fired generation declining an average of 5% annually over the next two years, producing 661 BkWh in 2027.
AI-based data centers in particular require far more electricity than traditional online activities such as streaming music or browsing photos. In addition, lower interest rates provide a supportive backdrop for this capital-intensive industry. Tremendous energy demand in the U.S. was largely fueled by a huge increase in electricity needs across the country. In June and July 2025 Europe experienced a heatwave, with local temperatures exceeding 40°C.
- Some are even redirecting anxieties toward the masters of the AI universe, highlighted by a Molotov cocktail lobbed at the home of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last week.
- The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which operates the grid for 15 states across the Midwest, South, and Mountain West, expects demand to increase by 35% by 2035 — again, largely driven by data centers.
- State officials recorded roughly 500 drone-related incidents over Georgia correctional facilities in 2025, according to Carr, resulting in the seizure of nearly 1,200 cellphones.
- ERCOT says Texas electric demand could reach nearly 370,000 megawatts by 2032, quadrupling our current capacity.
However, coal and gas-fired plants remain essential, especially during evenings and nights when solar output drops. Data centers accounted for 17% of electricity demand growth worldwide last year, according to the IEA report, compared with around 50% in the U.S. About 14% of last year’s additional solar generation was used at other times of day, thanks to large increases in the uptake of batteries, which have fallen sharply in price in the past decade. Solar power met three-quarters of the increase in electricity demand in 2025, with the remainder mostly met by wind power.
- “U.S. energy production remains strong, and natural gas output is expected to grow to nearly 109 billion cubic feet per day this year,” said Tristan Abbey, Administrator of the U.S.
- Peak demand grew as well, by 12% in France and 15% in Spain, and 5% in Germany and Poland.
- The Pennsylvania DEP entered into a consent agreement with the company on April 20 before an Indiana County Court of Common Pleas judge, setting out a schedule for the company to construct its wastewater system, allowing the plants to remain open.
- “PSPCL is fully prepared to meet the unexpected rise in power demand during the current summer season and ensure smooth and uninterrupted power supply across the state,” he said.
- The share of coal in power generation would fall to 15% in 2027 from 17% in 2025.
The peak temperature is the value in the hour with the highest average temperature. Impacts of extreme weather events on Europe’s power systems are estimated in billions of euros over the next decade, and 45 billion euros in 2023 alone for the wider European economy, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). The surge has already exceeded forecasts for this time of year, catching planners off guard. Just days before hitting the new record, demand had already touched 252 GW, indicating a rapid escalation as temperatures climbed across north and central India. In 2021, Cameco doubled its stake in Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), its uranium enrichment joint venture with Silex, from 24% to 49%. In 2023, it partnered with Brookfield Asset Management to acquire Westinghouse Electric, one of the world’s largest nuclear technology companies.