THERON ENERGY
Permanent Magnetic Energy Solutions for Humanity and Super Artificial Intelligence
GRID IMPACT STUDY
How Theron’s Off-Grid Solutions Alleviate Local Utility Strain
Covering: National Grid | Florida (Palm Beach / Jupiter Corridor) | Ohio (Midwest Data Center Corridor) | Global Markets
Audience: Investors | Utility Regulators | Tech Company Procurement Teams
Prepared: February 2026 | CONFIDENTIAL
Executive Summary
The United States power grid is experiencing its most significant demand surge in decades. Driven by the explosive growth of AI data centers, total U.S. electricity consumption is projected to rise from approximately 4,110 billion kWh in 2024 to over 4,260 billion kWh in 2026, with data centers alone forecast to consume between 325–580 TWh annually by 2028. This growth is straining transmission infrastructure, driving up capacity market prices, and imposing measurable cost increases on residential and commercial ratepayers in data center corridors nationwide.
This Grid Impact Study documents the nature, scale, and geographic distribution of that strain — and presents Theron Energy’s off-grid Permanent Magnetic Energy (PME) generators and ATMAG GENSET product line as the quantifiable solution that removes data center load from utility grids entirely, with zero emissions and integrated water generation.
Every Theron unit deployed at a data center facility is load permanently subtracted from the regional grid — with no transmission dependency, no capacity market contribution, and no ratepayer cost-shifting mechanism.
Section 1: The U.S. Grid Under Unprecedented Strain
1.1 National Load Growth
For most of the period from 2010 to 2020, U.S. electricity consumption was essentially flat. That era is over. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (December 2025), total U.S. electricity generation is forecast to reach 4,327 billion kWh in 2026. The five-year demand growth forecast has increased by a factor of six in just four years.
| 4.4% → up to 12% Data Center Share of U.S. Electricity Consumption Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: growth from 176 TWh (2023) to 325–580 TWh by 2028 |
Of the 166 GW of forecast peak load growth projected through 2030, roughly 90 GW are directly linked to data centers, according to Grid Strategies LLC’s 2025 National Load Growth Report. AI-optimized hyperscale servers require two to four times the watts of traditional server racks — with AI computing racks reaching power densities of 30–100+ kW per rack, versus 7–10 kW for conventional IT.
1.2 Ratepayer Cost Impact
Grid infrastructure upgrades required to serve data center load are routinely passed to existing ratepayers. The financial impact is already measurable and growing:
- In the PJM electricity market (Illinois to North Carolina), data centers drove an estimated $9.3 billion increase in the 2025–26 capacity market clearing price.
- PJM capacity market prices for the 2026–2027 delivery year surged to $329.17/MW — more than ten times the $28.92/MW price in the 2024–2025 delivery year, with data center growth identified as the primary factor.
- Average residential bills are expected to rise by $18/month in western Maryland and $16/month in Ohio as a direct result of data center grid costs.
- A Carnegie Mellon University study estimates data centers and cryptocurrency mining could drive an 8% increase in average U.S. electricity bills by 2030, potentially exceeding 25% in high-demand markets such as Northern Virginia.
- Dominion Energy (Virginia) proposed its first base-rate increase since 1992 in February 2025, adding approximately $8.51/month per household in 2026.
1.3 Grid Interconnection Delays
The physical constraints of the aging U.S. grid are creating operational bottlenecks that delay data center deployments and force expensive workarounds. Complex regulatory workflows, lengthy interconnection queue studies, and the need for major transmission upgrades are causing multi-year delays in data center deployments across Northern Virginia and other high-demand corridors. In response, AI-driven energy demand is outpacing available capacity in some markets, driving companies to delay projects, contract power directly from private producers, or install multiple inefficient natural gas reciprocating generators as stopgap solutions.
A 2025 Deloitte survey of 120 U.S. power company and data center executives found that grid stress was the single leading challenge for data center infrastructure development, with 72% of all respondents describing power and grid capacity as “very or extremely challenging.”
Section 2: Global Grid Strain — The International Picture
2.1 Global Electricity Demand Surge
The data center grid strain problem is not uniquely American. It is a global phenomenon that is reshaping electricity markets on every continent where AI infrastructure is being deployed. According to the IEA’s Mid-Year Electricity Update 2025, global electricity consumption will reach a new high of over 29,000 TWh in 2026, growing at 3.3% in 2025 and 3.7% in 2026 — among the highest annual growth rates observed in the last decade.
Data centers are a primary driver of this growth. The IEA estimates that global data centers currently account for approximately 1.5% of world electricity consumption — around 415 TWh — having grown at 12% per year over the past five years. The IEA’s Energy and AI special report projects global data center consumption will reach 650–1,050 TWh by 2026, and 945 TWh by 2030, with global investment in data center infrastructure expected to reach $580 billion in 2025 — surpassing the $540 billion being spent annually on global oil supply.
| 415 TWh → 945 TWh Global Data Center Electricity Consumption IEA: current consumption growing to projected 2030 level — a 128% increase |
The IEA describes the world as entering a “new age of electricity,” with data centers set to consume electricity at a pace that is outstripping the build-out of new generation and transmission infrastructure globally. In its World Energy Outlook 2025, the IEA warns that energy demand is outpacing availability in all scenarios, with the resulting infrastructure strain already creating bottlenecks, congestion, and spiking capacity costs worldwide.
2.2 Regional Global Hotspots
| Country / Region | Data Center Electricity Share | Key Strain Indicator |
| United States | ~4.4% national; up to 26% (Virginia) | DOE projects 12% of US total by 2028; PJM capacity prices up 1,038% |
| Ireland | ~21–22% of national supply | IEA projects rising to 32% by 2026; Dublin at 79% municipal share |
| European Union | ~70 TWh (2024) | EU projects 115 TWh by 2030; EU energy labelling package due 2026 |
| China | Electricity demand growing 5–5.7% annually | Record peak loads in 2024; NEA forecasts 1,570 GW peak 2025 |
| India | Demand growing 4–6.6% annually | Peak load forecast 270 GW in 2025; data center growth accelerating |
| Japan | ~50% of demand growth from data centers | IEA: roughly half of Japan’s 5-year demand growth tied to data centers |
| Global (2030) | ~3% of total global consumption | 945 TWh; data center investment $580B already surpassing oil supply spend |
In Ireland, the concentration of hyperscale data center development has pushed data center electricity consumption to 79% of Dublin’s total municipal electricity supply, according to analysis by the Oeko-Institute. The Irish grid operator has halted new data center connections in the greater Dublin area due to capacity constraints — a preview of what other data center corridors globally can expect as AI infrastructure demand continues to compound.
2.3 The Global Regulatory Response
Governments worldwide are increasingly legislating data center energy responsibility:
- United States: President Trump’s 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge mandates self-generation for major tech companies. Texas SB-6 (2025) requires data centers exceeding 75 MW to fund their own transmission interconnection costs.
- European Union: The EU is developing a data center energy efficiency labelling package due for publication in early 2026, requiring transparency on energy and water use. The EU Code of Conduct for Data Centres establishes voluntary efficiency best practices, with mandatory requirements under development.
- Ireland: EirGrid has implemented connection moratoriums for new data center development in capacity-constrained areas, directly linking data center growth to grid stability policy.
- China: The National Energy Administration actively monitors and manages data center load as part of national grid planning, with data center operators increasingly required to demonstrate power sourcing plans.
- India: The Ministry of Power is implementing energy efficiency standards as part of broader grid management, with data center growth explicitly factored into national peak load planning.
The global regulatory trend is unambiguous and accelerating: data centers must own or account for their energy supply. Theron Energy’s off-grid PME solutions are positioned as the hardware answer to this global policy imperative — deployable in any country, in any climate, without grid infrastructure dependency.
2.4 Global Market Opportunity for Theron
The Theron ATMAG GENSET product line’s atmospheric water generation capability is particularly significant in the international context. Many of the world’s fastest-growing data center markets — India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa — are located in regions where both grid reliability and freshwater access are constrained. The ATMAG GENSET’s ability to generate both electricity and clean water from ambient air makes it uniquely suited to these markets, where conventional data center infrastructure faces the dual challenge of unreliable grid power and water scarcity for cooling.
Theron H2O’s global humidity mapping confirms that the HUMID and SUB-HUMID regions where AWG technology is most effective — including the Amazon basin, the Congo basin, Southeast Asia, and southern China — are among the world’s highest-growth digital infrastructure markets. This geographic alignment between Theron’s technology capabilities and global data center growth corridors represents a significant international market opportunity.
Section 3: U.S. Geographic Grid Strain Analysis
3.1 Florida — Palm Beach / Jupiter Corridor
Florida’s grid is managed by the Florida Reliability Coordinating Council (FRCC) and served primarily by Florida Power & Light (FPL) / NextEra Energy in the South Florida region. The Palm Beach County corridor — where Theron Energy’s International Head Office (Jupiter, FL) and TERRA Florida manufacturing hub (Wellington / Twenty Mile Bend) are located — is experiencing growing data center and hyperscale infrastructure interest, driven by its fiber connectivity, land availability, and proximity to the Miami-Dade tech corridor.
Florida’s summer peak demand regularly stresses transmission infrastructure, and the state has historically relied on natural gas for over 70% of its electricity generation — making it particularly vulnerable to fuel price volatility and carbon regulation. The addition of hyperscale AI data center load in Palm Beach County without self-generation provisions would place direct upward pressure on FPL residential and commercial rates.
Theron Energy’s TERRA Florida facility at Twenty Mile Bend is positioned as the primary manufacturing hub for PME units and ATMAG GENSETs serving the Southeast U.S. data center market. Data centers in the South Florida region deploying Theron units will have zero grid draw — removing their load entirely from FPL’s transmission and distribution infrastructure and protecting Palm Beach County ratepayers from cost increases.
3.2 Ohio — Midwest Data Center Corridor
Ohio is one of the fastest-growing data center markets in the United States. The Columbus metropolitan area has emerged as a major hyperscale destination, attracting Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Google, and Meta. S&P Global’s 451 Research noted “significant growth in Ohio, particularly around Columbus, where data center operators have clustered for years.”
| 2.3 GW+ Ohio Data Center Demand Forecast 451 Research — Ohio among top-tier data center states by 2025–26 |
The impact on Ohio ratepayers is already documented. American Electric Power (AEP) Ohio sought and received a new data-center-specific tariff from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio specifically designed to shield non-data-center customers from costs related to underused grid investments serving the data center industry. AEP’s capital plan has grown by $16 billion partly to meet data center demand, pushing its five-year plan to $70 billion across its 11-state territory.
Theron Energy’s TERRA Ohio facility (Theron Transform, Pataskala, Ohio — 1,277,000 SF, completed and ready for occupancy) is strategically positioned within the Columbus data center corridor. Ohio data centers deploying Theron ATMAG GENSETs eliminate their grid draw entirely — directly relieving AEP Ohio’s transmission infrastructure and removing a source of ratepayer cost pressure that Ohio regulators have already been forced to address legislatively.
3.3 National Picture
The grid strain problem is not limited to Florida and Ohio. Every major data center market in the United States is experiencing versions of the same dynamic:
| State / Region | 2025 Data Center Grid Demand | Key Strain Indicator |
| Virginia (Northern) | ~12.1 GW | 26% of state electricity supply consumed by data centers (2023) |
| Texas (ERCOT) | ~9.7 GW | SB-6 (2025): new law requiring DC operators to fund grid interconnection |
| Ohio (Columbus) | 2.3 GW+ | AEP $70B capital plan; new data-center ratepayer tariff enacted |
| Oregon | 4 GW+ | 11% of state supply consumed by data centers (2023) |
| Iowa / Nebraska | 2–3 GW | 11–12% of state supply consumed by data centers (2023) |
| National Total (2026) | 75.8 GW | S&P Global / 451 Research forecast for all U.S. data center demand |
| National Total (2030) | 134.4 GW | S&P Global / 451 Research long-range forecast |
Section 4: Theron Energy’s Grid Alleviation Solution
4.1 The Core Mechanism: Total Grid Load Removal
The fundamental difference between Theron’s solution and all other data center energy strategies — including grid-connected renewables, nuclear, and natural gas self-generation — is that Theron units do not interact with the grid at all.
A data center powered by Theron PME generators or ATMAG GENSETs does not appear as a load on any utility’s transmission or distribution system. It does not contribute to capacity market price pressure. It does not trigger interconnection study requirements. It does not consume transmission corridor capacity. It is, from the grid’s perspective, invisible.
This is the strongest possible form of grid alleviation: not demand response, not load flexibility, not efficiency — but complete load removal.
4.2 Quantified Grid Alleviation by Product
| Theron Unit | Output | Grid Load Removed (per unit) | Annual kWh Removed from Grid |
| 15 kW Home Generator | 15 kW | 15 kW continuous | ~131,400 kWh/yr |
| 45 kW Commercial Generator | 45 kW | 45 kW continuous | ~394,200 kWh/yr |
| 750 kW Industrial Generator | 750 kW | 750 kW continuous | ~6,570,000 kWh/yr |
| 1.2 MW Industrial Generator | 1.2 MW | 1.2 MW continuous | ~10,512,000 kWh/yr |
| ATMAG GENSET (single) | Configurable | Per spec | Per spec |
| ATMAG GENSET (40’ quad-stack) | 20 MW | 20 MW continuous | ~175,200,000 kWh/yr |
To place the 40-foot quadruple-stack ATMAG GENSET’s 175,200,000 kWh/year in context: this is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of approximately 16,000 average U.S. households — removed entirely from the grid and its associated ratepayer cost structure.
4.3 ATMAG GENSET: Grid + Water Alleviation
Data centers are not only grid-intensive — they are among the largest consumers of municipal water in their host communities, primarily for cooling. This dual resource burden — electricity and water — compounds the strain on local infrastructure and is a growing point of regulatory and community friction.
The ATMAG GENSET (ATmospheric water + MAGnetic energy + GENerator SET) addresses both burdens simultaneously:
- Energy: Up to 20 MW of continuous off-grid power from Permanent Magnetic Energy — zero grid draw.
- Water: Up to 120,000 liters of clean water per day extracted from ambient air via condensation — zero municipal water draw.
- Self-Powered: The PME generator powers the Atmospheric Water Generator internally. No external energy is consumed to produce the water.
- Zero Emissions: No combustion, no fuel supply chain, no carbon or particulate output.
- Silent Operation: Suitable for indoor installation within data center campus footprints.
A data center campus deploying ATMAG GENSETs therefore alleviates strain on two critical public infrastructure systems simultaneously — the electrical grid and the municipal water supply — while producing zero pollution.
4.4 Scalability for Any Data Center Load Profile
Theron’s generator product family is modular and scalable from small edge deployments through hyperscale campuses:
- Small / Edge: 15 kW – 65 kW residential and commercial units for edge compute nodes and small data center pods.
- Mid-Scale: 100 kW – 200 kW mobile generators for modular and temporary deployments.
- Large Industrial: 750 kW – 1.2 MW industrial generators for individual data hall blocks.
- Hyperscale: THERON GENSET and ATMAG GENSET configurations, daisy-chainable and stackable to meet any multi-MW campus requirement.
This scalability means Theron’s grid alleviation benefit applies across the entire data center market spectrum — from distributed edge nodes to the largest hyperscale campuses operated by Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon, and their peers.
Section 5: Manufacturing Infrastructure for Grid Alleviation at Scale
The scale of U.S. grid strain demands a manufacturing response equal to the challenge. Theron Energy’s TERRA infrastructure is purpose-built to deliver self-generation hardware at the volume the market requires:
| Facility | Location | Size | Status | Primary Output |
| Theron HQ / SAI Labs | Jupiter, Florida | 555,000 SF | Completed | R&D, executive ops, SAI integration |
| TERRA Florida | Wellington / Twenty Mile Bend, Palm Beach County, FL | 1,088,000 SF | Under construction | PME units, ATMAG GENSETs, H2O systems |
| TERRA Ohio (Theron Transform) | Pataskala, Ohio | 1,277,000 SF | Completed | PME units for Midwest data center corridor |
Combined, these three facilities represent over 2.8 million square feet of manufacturing capacity dedicated to producing the off-grid self-generation hardware that removes data center load from U.S. utility grids. TERRA Ohio’s location in Pataskala, Ohio places it directly within the Columbus data center corridor it serves.
Section 6: Regulatory and Policy Alignment
6.1 2026 Ratepayer Protection Pledge
President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge, announced at the February 24, 2026 State of the Union, directly mandates the self-generation pathway that Theron’s entire product line is engineered to deliver. Tech companies signing the pledge at the White House in early March 2026 will require verifiable, auditable self-generation hardware. Theron’s off-grid PME units are the only solution that makes RPP compliance physically verifiable — installed capacity cannot be disputed the way voluntary commitments can.
6.2 State-Level Ratepayer Protection Legislation
Ohio’s Public Utilities Commission has already enacted data-center-specific tariff structures to protect residential customers from grid upgrade costs associated with data center expansion. Texas Senate Bill 6 (2025) now requires data center operators exceeding 75 MW to fund their own transmission infrastructure costs. These regulatory trends are accelerating nationally — and they all point toward the same outcome: data centers must own their energy supply.
Theron’s solution does not merely comply with these regulatory trends — it eliminates the regulatory exposure entirely by removing data center facilities from the grid-connected cost structure altogether.
6.3 PJM Capacity Market Reform
PJM’s capacity market clearing price increase from $28.92/MW to $329.17/MW between the 2024–25 and 2026–27 delivery years represents a 1,038% increase driven primarily by data center load growth. For data center operators with grid-connected facilities in PJM territory, this is a direct and dramatic increase in operating costs. Theron-powered data centers are not participants in the PJM capacity market — they have no exposure to capacity price volatility whatsoever.
Section 7: Summary — Theron’s Quantifiable Grid Impact
The following matrix summarizes the documented grid alleviation impact of Theron Energy’s solutions across all key dimensions:
| Grid Strain Factor | Without Theron | With Theron ATMAG GENSET |
| Grid Load (per 20 MW DC campus) | 20 MW continuous grid draw | ✅ 0 MW — fully off-grid |
| Annual kWh from Grid | ~175,200,000 kWh/yr | ✅ 0 kWh — complete removal |
| Ratepayer Cost Contribution | Direct transmission + capacity costs | ✅ Zero — no grid interaction |
| Emissions | Per regional grid mix (avg ~400g CO₂/kWh) | ✅ Zero — no combustion |
| Municipal Water Draw (cooling) | Millions of liters/year | ✅ Zero — AWG provides up to 120K L/day |
| Capacity Market Exposure | Exposed to PJM / ERCOT price volatility | ✅ None — not a grid participant |
| Interconnection Queue Delay | Multi-year delays possible | ✅ None — no interconnection required |
| Regulatory Tariff Risk (OH, TX, VA) | Subject to new data-center cost tariffs | ✅ Exempt — off-grid by design |
Conclusion
The U.S. power grid is at a watershed moment. AI data center growth is driving electricity demand at a pace the existing grid infrastructure was not designed to handle, and the costs are falling on residential and commercial ratepayers across the country. Capacity market prices have increased tenfold in some regions. State legislatures are enacting new tariffs. The President of the United States has called on the largest tech companies to bring their own power.
Theron Energy’s Permanent Magnetic Energy generators and ATMAG GENSET product line represent the only commercially available technology that responds to this challenge with complete, verifiable, hardware-based grid separation. Every unit deployed is load permanently removed from the national grid — reducing capacity market pressure, eliminating ratepayer cost exposure, producing zero emissions, and in the case of the ATMAG GENSET, generating its own clean water supply without municipal infrastructure dependency.
With over 2.8 million square feet of manufacturing capacity in Florida and Ohio, Theron Energy is positioned to deliver self-generation hardware at the scale the market demands — serving hyperscalers from Microsoft and Google to the next generation of AI infrastructure builders who are today searching for “stranded power and alternative energy generation opportunities.”
The grid cannot grow fast enough to power the AI revolution. Theron Energy can.
For inquiries, investment information, or procurement discussions:
TheronEnergy.com | TheronH2O.com | TheronGenerators.com
(855) 8-THERON | support@theronenergy.com
Sources & References
The following published sources informed the data and statistics in this study:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Data Center Energy Use projections (176 TWh 2023; 325–580 TWh by 2028)
- U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) — Short-Term Energy Outlook, December 2025 (4,110 billion kWh 2024 → 4,327 billion kWh 2026)
- S&P Global / 451 Research — Data Center Grid-Power Demand Forecast (75.8 GW 2026; 134.4 GW 2030), October 2025
- Grid Strategies LLC — National Load Growth Report 2025 (166 GW peak load growth; ~90 GW linked to data centers)
- Pew Research Center — U.S. Data Centers Energy Use Amid the AI Boom, October 2025 ($9.3B PJM capacity market increase; $18/month Ohio; $16/month western Maryland)
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School — AI, Data Centers, and the U.S. Electric Grid: A Watershed Moment, February 10, 2026
- Carnegie Mellon University — Study on data center / crypto mining electricity bill impact (8% national average; up to 25% in Northern Virginia by 2030)
- Deloitte — 2025 AI Infrastructure Survey (72% of executives rate power/grid as very/extremely challenging)
- Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) — Virginia 26% state electricity supply consumed by data centers (2023)
- PJM Interconnection — Capacity market clearing price data (2024–25: $28.92/MW; 2026–27: $329.17/MW)
- Dominion Energy — First base-rate increase since 1992, February 2025 (+$8.51/month in 2026)
- Texas Senate Bill 6 (SB-6), 2025 — Large load interconnection requirements for data centers exceeding 75 MW
- Public Utilities Commission of Ohio — AEP Ohio data-center tariff settlement protecting residential ratepayers
- DataCenterKnowledge.com — 2026 Predictions: AI Sparks Data Center Power Revolution, February 2026
- International Energy Agency (IEA) — Energy and AI Report, April 2025