DOE workshop addresses integrating AI data centers with grid

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosted the Next-Generation Data Centers Power and Security Workshop, where DOE’s Office of Electricity and industry stakeholders convened to identify research and technology pathways to integrate AI data centers with the electric grid.

• Main announcement/action: The workshop identified priority research areas including direct-current power architectures, flexible and networked microgrids, real-time energy demand modeling and feedback, secure data center design and security testing for grid equipment, and U.S. manufacturing workforce development; DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary Michael Pesin introduced a “do no harm” principle for data center–grid integration, urged that existing power plants remain online and that transmission approval processes be streamlined, and cited a recent Section 202(c) Federal Power Act order that allowed access to backup generation during an East Coast cold spell to avoid rolling blackouts. The workshop noted AI training can cause power swings of hundreds of megawatts that must be managed.

• Background and details: Industry and utilities (including Tennessee Valley Authority, EPRI, STAK Energy, Schneider Electric, Indium Corporation, Southwire, S&P Global) discussed forecasting challenges for data center load, supply-chain shortages (electrical steel, copper, semiconductors, graphite, gallium), and actions such as increased recycling, pursuing domestic/North American mining and refining of trace metals, and manufacturers scaling up capacity; STAK Energy presented plans for a large natural-gas-powered data center platform on Alaska’s North Slope (Prudhoe Bay). ORNL also announced formation of a Next-Generation Data Center Institute consolidating expertise in energy technologies, HPC, cybersecurity and grid science.