Energy Department to deploy AI on power grid backlog

Daniel Moore

Illustration of a glowing lightning bolt symbol filled with binary code. Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios.

The Biden administration is seeking to harness artificial intelligence to help clear the growing backlog of renewable energy waiting to connect to the grid.

Why it matters: Nearly 2,600 gigawatts of active projects — almost all wind, solar, and batteries — were in U.S. grid interconnection queues at the end of 2023, up 27% from the end of 2022, according to a Lawrence Berkeley National Lab report.

Energy officials have sought to frame AI as an opportunity for innovation, while utilities and power grid authorities raise alarms about the electricity demand required by data centers running it. Driving the news: The Energy Department's Grid Deployment Office is offering up to $30 million to accelerate the interconnection review process.

Projects will apply AI algorithms to parse interconnection applications and more quickly identify deficient applications and rapidly notify project developers, the DOE said. AI software trained on a library of accurate documentation and application materials can review interconnection applications for the required documentation and flag any errors, it said. Grid authorities estimate 90% of interconnection applications they receive are deficient, and the work to correct those errors is a major cause of delay. What they're saying: "Artificial intelligence is an energy solution capable of helping clear an interconnection backlog that will free up new energy sources to ensure consumers have power when and where they need it," Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a statement.

Our thought bubble: The funding, authorized by the bipartisan infrastructure law, is unlikely to be a major Trump administration target.

Tackling interconnection delays have been a bipartisan priority at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Republicans tend to agree that more power — whether it's fossil fuel or renewable generation — is needed to meet demand growth. Project 2025 calls for defunding "most" of the Grid Deployment Office's programs but leaving some IIJA grants that "appear to be properly focused on enhancing the reliability and security of the electric grid."