The proliferation of data centers across the United States represents new “loads” (i.e., sources of demand) on the electrical grid. Data centers require enormous amounts of energy to power and cool their computing systems that operate continuously or near-continuously. To meet this demand, new energy infrastructure—both generation and transmission—will need […]
Energy Resilience
4 posts
Compounding their significant climate and environmental harms, fossil fuels are also volatile commodities. In 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted the supply of natural gas, causing prices to spike. More recently, the United States’ war on Iran resulted in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most […]
This blog post was authored by 2024 Sabin Center Summer Intern, Yoon Kim, with input and supervision from Abe Silverman, Research Scholar at The Johns Hopkins University, Zach Wendling, Program Manager at the Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy, and Romany Webb, Deputy Director of the Sabin Center for […]
Payal Nanavati Columbia Law School Class of ‘17 Climate change has already begun to force elements of the electric grid to operate in conditions materially different from those for which they were designed. Persistent high temperatures, heavy or reduced precipitation, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise can all affect grid […]