| Resource Type | Report |
| Author / Source | Alex Engel, Uday Varadarajan, David Posner (RMI) |
| Publication Date | February 2025 |
| Location | United States |
| Initiative Type | Technology, Policy |
| Project Complexity | Advanced |
| Recommended For | Staff, Board |
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
Why This Matters for Rural Electric Co-ops
This report proposes pairing large electricity consumers, such as AI data centers, with new clean-energy generation at existing grid interconnection sites to speed deployment and protect affordability. As data centers and large industrial loads drive unprecedented electricity demand growth, rural electric co-ops face pressure to accommodate new large customers or risk losing economic development opportunities to better-positioned utilities. The "Power Couples" model offers a concrete co-location framework that shields existing members from cost shifts and reliability risk.
Co-op leaders can use this resource to evaluate whether their service territory includes candidate sites and to structure any large-load negotiations around cost-protection and reliability safeguards.
Key Takeaways
| › | The "Power Couples" model pairs a large electricity consumer (e.g., a data center) with new-build solar, wind, and battery storage near an existing generator's grid interconnection point, allowing fast-track connection while isolating costs to the new customer, not existing ratepayers. |
| › | RMI analysis identifies 50+ GW of potential load nationally that could be served this way at under $200/MWh, with most capacity available under $100/MWh. This suggests the model is broadly cost-competitive. |
| › | Rural electric co-ops and vertically integrated utilities face fewer regulatory barriers to Power Couples than investor-owned utilities in organized markets, making this a more immediately actionable strategy for co-ops with suitable sites. |
| › | Load forecasts driving data center siting decisions have historically proven unreliable. The modular, phased nature of Power Couples limits stranded asset risk if projected loads don't materialize, a key protection co-ops should build into any large-load agreements. |
Implementation Considerations
- Cost or Funding Requirements: Physical isolation infrastructure (ensuring the co-located load cannot draw from the broader grid during stress events) must be paid for by the large-load customer. Co-ops should ensure this is explicitly required in any co-location agreement, not absorbed into general rate base.
- Regulatory or Governance Considerations: While co-ops face fewer barriers than IOUs, siting new generation wires across public roadways may still trigger state utility law issues depending on jurisdiction. Co-ops pursuing this model should engage state regulators and legal counsel early, and assess alignment with their G&T before committing to interconnection arrangements.
Notable Examples
- Dominion Energy Virginia, Georgia Power, Duke Energy: Cited to illustrate the dramatic upward revision in load forecasts driven by data centers (demand growth projections revised from low single digits to 33–58% within a single year).
- ERCOT: Identified as the most permissive regulatory environment for Power Couples; useful benchmark for co-ops assessing what "best case" implementation looks like.
- FERC Order 845 (2018): Established "surplus interconnection" provisions that provide the legal hook for fast-track interconnection under the Power Couples model.
Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
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