Instead of imposing data center bans over fears of energy consumption, elected officials should allow tech companies to bring their own power online through privately operated electricity generation, according to a new report from National Taxpayers Union in partnership with the Louisiana-based Pelican Institute released Thursday.
“Policymakers have sidestepped badly needed upgrades to the nation’s aging electric grid for years, but they can no longer do so because the future of our economy is here, and it needs reliable power,” Pete Sepp, president of National Taxpayers Union, said. “State and federal officials should bring every creative approach to reforming electricity generation rather than retreating from new technology that will preserve America’s competitive edge.”
The report identifies Consumer Regulated Electricity as a solution to enable new energy-intensive consumers to voluntarily contract with private power generators operating on fully separate, islanded systems without tying into the public grid.
This innovative approach delivers speed-to-power that “hyperscalers” and other industrial manufacturers need now, all while clearing away unnecessary regulatory hurdles and allaying concerns among existing ratepayers.
Another complementary option is for regulators to expand access to “behind-the-meter power generation,” an approach that enables energy-intensive users to produce and consume their own electricity on-site without it ever flowing through the public grid.
Both market-driven tools can work alongside traditional utility structures to provide reassurance to residential ratepayers, encourage innovation, and keep the U.S. competitive in a global race that runs on electricity.
“The path to an affordable, abundant, high-energy future for all Americans runs through free enterprise, not more central planning and government regulation. It is time to remove the barriers that have slowed a once-vibrant industry and let markets deliver the reliable, responsive power our economy needs,” said Pelican Institute CEO Daniel Erspamer.
The report is part of an ongoing series advocating for taxpayers to benefit from data center policies. See all data center work at ntu.org/datacenters.
National Taxpayers Union is the only free-market organization for taxpayers that unites effective advocacy with useful research about how to limit taxes, spending, and regulation at every level and branch of government—state, federal, administrative, and judicial.