Lack of new U.S. power capacity could double blackouts by 2030, says Energy Department

FILE - This Sept. 8, 2011 file photo shows Deborah Springs shopping in a convenience store for food items after a power outage in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

U.S. power outages could double in five years if suppliers fail to add capacity during peak demand, the Department of Energy said on Monday.

“Blackouts could increase by 100% in 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources,” DOE noted in a report on grid reliability and security.

It cited green policies of the Biden administration as a major reason for the retirement of power plants and the delay in approving their replacements.

The gap between electricity demand and supply is widening, particularly as artificial intelligence drives the need for more power-hungry data centers, it added.

The department said it expects 209 gigawatts of new electricity generation to be added by 2030 to replace 104 GW of plant retirements, but only 22 GW of the new energy will come from power sources that provide stable and continuous power supply, raising outage risk in several regions.

Reporting by Sarah Qureshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang