The program is a drive to break one of sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest impediments to growth: Almost half of its population, or 570 million people, have no access to electricity.

Globally, over 666 million people do not have access to electricity. If those without electricity were a country, they would be the third most populous on earth.

Global electricity demand is forecast to increase at a brisk average annual rate of 3.6% over the 2026-2030 forecast period, supported by rising consumption from industry, electric vehicles, air conditioning and data centres.

Winter Storm Fern (January 23–27, 2026) was a severe, multi-day arctic outbreak that brought record-low temperatures (as low as –43 °F in Minnesota), ice accumulations up to 0.80 inches, snowfall of 6–13 inches in the Ohio Valley, high winds, and widespread freezing precipitation across a vast corridor from northern Mexico through the Southern Plains, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast.

Data mining—the process of discovering patterns, correlations, and actionable insights from large datasets—has emerged as a critical enabler for operational efficiency, cost reduction, reliability, and informed decision-making in the energy industry.

Across the United States, battery energy storage is rapidly emerging from a niche technology into mainstream grid infrastructure.

Modernizing power grids is critical to meeting rising energy demands, integrating renewable sources, and ensuring operational reliability. Traditional grids struggle with aging infrastructure, fluctuating loads, and the variability of renewable generation.

Defined as the deliberate reduction or cessation of electricity generation from renewables, even when plants are technically capable of producing, curtailment represents a stark irony in our clean energy journey.

In 2026, US data center demand will rise to 75.8 GW for IT equipment, cooling, lighting and other uses, and further expand to 108 GW in 2028 and 134.4 GW in 2030, according to the outlook.

By 2030, U.S. data centers will account for approximately 12% of the total U.S. power demand — an increase of approximately 400 terawatt hours (TWh) from today.