Summary 2

Rapid data centre growth is driving flexibility - but load shifting falls short without clean onsite generation 4

 1.1 Data centres could account for 25% of peak demand in some markets by 2030 4

 1.2 Data centre flexibility can ease pressure on the grid in two ways 6

Only 3% of data centre capacity is estimated to be available for load shifting 7

 2.1 Most data centre workloads cannot easily be shifted 7

 2.2 Despite their large load, data centres could reduce peak demand by less than 0.6% in seven of the nine markets examined 9

Onsite generation offers more grid relief - but its value depends on what is built 11

 3.1 Switching to onsite generation would provide almost five times more grid relief than load shifting 12

 3.2 The risks of onsite generation could be turned into an opportunity for a more cost-efficient power system 12

Load shifting and onsite generation work best together 14

Supporting materials 15