Graduation Year

2026

Date of Submission

4-2026

Document Type

Campus Only Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Environment, Economics, and Politics (EEP)

Reader 1

Laura Grant

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© 2026 Miles F Brodey

Abstract

Texas leads the nation in wind and solar energy generation and is rapidly emerging as the largest U.S. market for new data center development, driven by growth in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. This paper investigates whether the expansion of data centers can help lessen forced energy reductions for local wind and solar generators.  Prior research suggests that large energy users like data centers may have the ability to absorb this excess energy. As grid operators work to reduce rising energy costs, maximizing the use of existing renewable resources is essential for mitigating price volatility. Using a before-and-after design, this paper examines whether individual wind and solar generation sites experience reductions in the amount of electricity they are unable to deliver to the grid after a data center becomes operational within a 30-mile radius. The data from this study shows that simply locating a data center within 30 miles of a wind or solar site does not reduce curtailment. Instead, meaningful improvements require coordination between data center developers and grid operators to better align data center electricity consumption with renewable energy generation.

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