The blame game

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DAILY ENERGY NEWS | 01/14/2026

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If you blame data centers for the problems in PJM you aren't doing your homework.

Wall Street Journal (1/13/25) reports: "America’s AI boom is pushing the nation’s largest power-grid operator to the brink of a supply crisis. Sixty-seven million people in a 13-state region stretching from New Jersey to Kentucky get their power from a market operated by nonprofit PJM. So, too, do the many AI data centers springing up in Northern Virginia’s 'Data Center Alley,' which have a bottomless appetite for electricity. Rates are going up for consumers. Older power plants are going out of service faster than new ones can be built. And the grid’s capacity is in danger of maxing out during periods of high demand, which could force PJM to call for rolling blackouts during heat waves or deep freezes to avoid damaging grid infrastructure...When Asthana took over as CEO of PJM in 2020, power plants within its service area were shutting down more quickly than they could be replaced. Six years later, that trend has continued even though power demand has risen. State environmental policies have accounted for some of the closures. Illinois, Michigan, Maryland and other states on the PJM grid have shut down some coal and gas-fired units to reduce carbon emissions."

"Further delay of [the CVOW offshore wind project] will cause irreparable harm to the 67 million residents of this region that depend on continued reliable delivery of electricity."

– PJM

A mandate to shut down reliable electricity is just a mandate for higher prices.

Inside Sources (1/12/25) reports: "The operator of America’s largest power grid is paying more for less electricity — and a new study suggests one reason could be the push to replace cheaper-running coal plants. PJM Interconnection, the nonprofit charged with keeping the lights on across 13 states and the District of Columbia, procured more than 134,000 megawatts of generating capacity at its most recent auction to cover the 2027-2028 period. However, the auction still fell short of the reliability requirement by more than 6,600 MW...Some energy consultants have been more blunt in their criticism of the rapid shift to renewables. Trisha Curtis, the CEO of PetroNerds, blamed plant retirements on environmentalists pushing unrealistic Net Zero carbon-emission goals. 'When they started shoving the wind and solar into the grid, as fast as they did, now they have rising electricity prices, and now they have actual power demand, and we don’t have enough power,' she said. Other analysts, including the Institute for Energy Research, emphasized that regulatory delays and legal challenges prevent new power generation from connecting to the grid, reinforcing the need to maintain existing resources, including coal plants, for grid stability. PJM officials said 57 gigawatts of projects are delayed due to local opposition, permitting delays, financing challenges or supply chain constraints."

Case in point.

Mackinac Center (1/7/26) opinion: "Michigan law mandates ever-increasing use of solar photovoltaic cells to replace reliable, affordable, coal, natural gas and nuclear power. Consider that after decades of mandates, tax breaks, and subsidies that add to your taxes and electricity bills, solar is only generating a bit over 2% of Michigan’s electric demand. Requiring more solar is the wrong plan for so many reasons: The threat of blackouts is highest in the winter, when the sun is not up and nights and early mornings are cold. A state agency estimates Michigan’s solar mandate will require 209,000 acres of farmland. Large solar projects often run into justified local opposition to permitting decisions (state law allows a state agency to override local decisions). Having a northern climate and surrounded by water, Michigan is a relatively cloudy state with poor solar resources...Michigan’s electric demand was 98.8 million megawatt-hours in 2024. Solar generation only totaled 2.3 million, or about 2% of that."