The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has released a report warning that Americans could face up to 800 hours of blackouts annually by 2030 if current energy trends persist. The analysis was issued in response to an executive order on electric grid reliability under President Donald Trump's administration.

The DOE report highlights concerns over the retirement of approximately 104 gigawatts (GW) of existing energy-generating capacity, which is scheduled to go offline by 2030. Although plans are in place to bring 209 GW of new capacity online, only 22 GW of that total comes from firm, around-the-clock baseload sources such as natural gas and nuclear.

The report points to increasing power demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and advanced manufacturing facilities. It states that, even with no retirements, the risk of outages in some regions could more than triple due to grid stress and growing interdependence between regional power systems.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated, "This report affirms what we already know: The United States cannot afford to continue down the unstable and dangerous path of energy subtraction."

The DOE calls for modernized methods of analyzing power grid reliability, including better models for evaluating the frequency, magnitude, and duration of outages.

The full report was issued as part of the DOE's mandate under the executive order titled "Strengthening the Reliability and Security of the United States Electric Grid."

Source: foxbusiness.com