Renewables or Gas: A $178B Decision Stalks a Grid That Can't Connect Either One Fast Enough

PJM's 60GW power shortfall, driven overwhelmingly by datacenter demand across 13 states serving 65 million people, carries a $178 billion price tag: that's the cost difference through 2035 between accelerating renewables and maintaining the status quo, according to Synapse Energy Economics. The capacity crunch could start biting by June, with the interconnection queue so clogged that new generation, clean or gas-fired, simply cannot connect fast enough to bid into capacity markets. The Trump administration's proposed emergency backstop auction, requiring hyperscalers to sign 15-year contracts with new plants, could entrench gas before the queue logjam breaks. Meanwhile, DOE has already started treating datacenter backup generators as dispatchable grid assets, deploying Section 202(c) emergency orders during Winter Storm Fern that tapped 35GW of nationally idle behind-the-meter capacity, setting a precedent Texas may soon be forced to make permanent.