With the boom of data centers there has come an increased demand in energy. Per a U.S. Department of Energy website, “Last October, Secretary Granholm joined SB Energy in Milam County, Texas for the opening of three solar projects -- Orion I, Orion II, and Orion III. All together, this facility will utilize 1.3 million solar modules manufactured by First Solar at its Perrysburg, Ohio plant to produce 875 MW of power, about as much as an average-sized natural gas plant.” The electricity generated from this facility will be go to the Texas grid and be utilized to power Google’s Data Centers in Ellis County and surrounding it.
This is the first publicly announced utility-scale solar project made with U.S. solar panels that is anticipated to qualify for the domestic content tax credit. These projects help show that federal tax credits such as the Domestic Content Bonus (which incentivizes companies to sources solar and storage systems domestically) and the Department of Energy’s data center strategy are both not only working, but are also increasing demand for U.S.A-made products.
Since the previous administration’s Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, there has been an influx in the investment of U.S. workers and facilities, with Texas alone announcing 16 new or expanded solar facilities, over $1.8 billion in investment, and an estimate of over 7,000 new jobs. Nationwide, there have been more than 35 new solar facilities opened after the IRA with a $3 billion investment in the U.S. and creating over 9,500 jobs.
“In addition to boosting the economy, clean energy is a critical strategy to support the rapid growth of data centers and the associated rise in demand for electricity.
DOE’s Data Center Engagement Team is supporting the industry to meet this demand, publishing resources at energy.gov/electricitydemand.”
