The U.S. Needs 250 GW: Take a Look at Four Plants to Visualize Real Bulk Power Generation

Many articles and blog posts have discussed the enormous electricity consumption of AI-Data Centers, EV’s and the Re-Shoring of American manufacturing. Especially energy intensive is aluminum and steel production. I presented the load growth curve below in July 2025. Since that time I have read and researched the growth of electricity demand and the likely need for about 250 GW of new, Base Load or Dispatchable Electricity generation by 2035.

Don Spellman and I coauthored an article in June expressing our concerns that not enough new, dispatchable, 24/7 generation capacity is being installed. Since that writing, I am even more convinced that the U.S. will face shortages of dispatchable generation this winter and beyond. Why, because we are not building enough new dispatchable or Base load generation fast enough. For example, just within 50 miles of my home in Hilton Head there are two large Data Centers proposed, one in Effingham County, Georgia about 35 miles away and one in Colleton County, S.C. about 50 miles north. The Effingham Data Center is reported to require 3,200 MW and the Colleton Data Center 1,000 MW. Both are being protested and legislated against but that is another story. Let’s suppose they will finally be accepted by the public and the politicians. If they are and if they do in fact require 4,200 MW of power 24/7, this is just two that are located nearby my home. Just as a matter of record, I think the AI-Data Centers are needed for America to keep our lead in the world on AI and Information Technology. Now, repeat this progress across the U.S.A. and it is not hard to come up with an electricity generating capacity requirement increase of about 250 GW. Keep in mind, that much of the aging current electricity generation equipment will need replacing anyway because of age. The existing 96 GW nuclear fleet average unit age today is over 44 years. The largest nuclear plant in S.C. is Oconee and the first unit started up in 1973. The oldest nuclear plant in S.C. is the H.B. Robinson plant which began operations in 1971. Just for reference, to build the first 100 GW of nuclear generation in America it took over forty years. Starting with the first U.S. commercial nuclear power plant at Shippingport, PA in 1957 and TVA’s as the most recent, starting up in 2016 and the last unit at Vogtle in 2024. Today there are 94 operational nuclear units and it took six decades to reach this accomplishment.

What Does it Take To Generate 250 GW of Electricity?

The Robert Moses Hydroelectric generating plant in Niagara Falls, NY is rated right at 2,500 MW. So is the Duke Energy Roxboro Electric Generating Station in Roxboro, NC, the Oconee nuclear plant and the Cross Generating Station in S.C. The Niagara Falls plant cannot be expanded because, the water flow is set by nature. Therefore, new generating capacity that is dispatchable is most reliably and economically obtained by building new thermal power plants. So, to build 250,000 MW of new generation capacity, Imagine building 100 new plants the same capacity as the Roxboro Generating Station or the Santee-Cooper Cross Generating Station which is just a bit smaller at about 2,350 MW. This will be difficult to accomplish in ten years.

Imagine Building 100 New Plants Like those Shown Below, In Ten Years. That is About 250 GW of Dispatchable Bulk Power

The four plants shown above are all in the capacity range of about 2,500 MW. All four are capable of Base load or Dispatchable 24/7 operation. The Robert Moses plant at Niagara Falls has been in operation for over a hundred years. Not the same turbines and generators but the site has been established since the working days of George Westinghouse himself. The first unit at the Cross Generating Station began operation in 1983 and the 4th and newest unit started up in 2008. That is a time period of 25 years.

The first unit at Roxboro began operation in 1966 and the newest unit started up in 1980. That is a period of fourteen years and the design and that does not include design and site preparation time.

I personally was employed by Babcock & Wilcox in 1966 when the Oconee reactors and steam generators were being designed and fabricated in Barberton, Ohio. They had just started the manufacturing process. Oconee #1 went into commercial operation in 1973. Units 2 and 3 came online later.

My point is, electricity load growth is out pacing the building of new dispatchable generation. It takes decades to build robust and reliable power generation plants that produce Bulk Power. And reliable, affordable electricity is the Lifeblood of America. Reliable electricity is not optional.

Conclusions

• Not enough new Dispatchable electricity generation capacity is being built
• Too much Intermittent solar and wind generation are being built
• Battery storage capacity to store excess daytime solar power cannot reasonably make up for the loss of the 160 GW of coal plants shut down since 2012
• Gas turbine, Combined Cycle plants now produce about 43% of America’s electricity. In my view, this is too much capacity concentration from pipeline provided gas fuel
• Solar and Wind are Not capable of providing the Bulk Power needed for the U.S.
• Where solar and wind are high percentages of generation, the electricity costs are high. Such as CA, CT, MA, RI, HI and ME
• The Self-Sabotage of U.S. Power Plants since the Obama administration was uneccessary, anti-American and wrong
• It will be difficult to rebuild the needed new generation capacity due to American Lawfare and still excessive, local, state and federal regulations
• The U.S. Supply-Chain of talent and manufacturing capability is less capable now than when most of the thermal power plants delivering reliable power today were built

Respectfully,

Dick Storm, October 8, 2026

References

1. Musings of two experienced engineers, one Coal Power and one Nuclear Power, June 2026: https://powerfortheusa.com/2026/06/30/musings-of-a-nuclear-engineer-and-a-coal-power-engineer-on-the-adequacy-of-bulk-power-supply-for-the-future/
2. U.S. Nuclear Power Plant Data Base: https://usnuclearpowerplants.com
3. Nuclear power generation evolution and history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_nuclear_power
4. List of Data Centers Planned by Electric Choice: https://www.electricchoice.com/datacenters/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c7b5600ae15075a6b7f5
5. Washington Examiner on Data Centers:  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/3807030/what-are-data-centers-and-why-do-they-matter/
6. EIA Data on nuclear power plants: https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=207&t=21
7. Coal Plant Shut Downs by IEEFA: https://ieefa.org/resources/us-track-close-half-coal-capacity-2026