US wind and solar still have room to grow for data centers, Microsoft VP says

By Laila Kearney

HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. wind and solar development still has significant room for expansion to power data centers, particularly in the Midwest wind corridor and sunny southwest, Microsoft Vice President of Energy Bobby Hollis told Reuters at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston on Wednesday.

The quick proliferation of Big Tech's energy-intensive data centers to expand AI and cloud technologies is rattling the long-stagnant U.S. power industry, pushing the country's power consumption to new highs and raising questions about whether carbon-free renewable electricity will be supplanted with gas-fired power.

"We still think there is a very long road ahead that keeps renewables an important part of the mix in the places where that makes sense," said Hollis.

Microsoft, which pledged five years ago to be carbon negative by 2030, is in the middle of one of the biggest data center expansions of any company globally, with plans to invest $80 billion in the effort this year alone that will require vast quantities of electricity.

Solar and wind are intermittent, only producing energy when the sun is shining or wind is blowing, a problem for data centers that must run around the clock.

Cheap and abundant natural gas, which produces 24/7 electricity but produces emissions that contribute to global warming, has become a quick and increasingly attractive option to big power users who had sought to lead the transition to carbon-free renewable energy.

"Let's add more gas when it's necessary," said Hollis, whose company said it has procured more than 30 gigawatts of renewable power globally. "Before we ever get to that place, let's make sure that we've added the renewables."

The mid-section of the U.S., with consistent and strong winds, is ripe for development of wind powered data centers, while solar power can be expanded in the sunny southeast, he said.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by David Gregorio)