An example: adding 500 MW
Here’s what happens if you add a 500 MW data center to Austin, TX in 2027 in Electrify:
| No new campus | 500 MW campus | |
|---|---|---|
| Smallest reserve | 680 MW | 180 MW (−73%) |
| Fuel and running costs | $450 million | $520 million (+17%) |
| Emissions | 6.1 million tonnes CO₂e | 7.2 million tonnes CO₂e (+17%) |
Try it yourself
- Open the data-center setup. Choose Austin, set Start year to 2026 and Data centers open to 2027.
- Under How much extra power?, set 0 MW and choose Start exploring.
- Play until 2028 or later to see the impact, then repeat with 500 MW.
The new campus draws constant power, while the game uses one representative day per month. This exercise cannot forecast a real project’s reliability or local bills.
Take these questions to your community
- Which power plants and grid upgrades must be ready when the campus opens?
- Who will pay for the new infrastructure and expenses?
- Where does the power come from on a windless night, and how does a clean-energy promise account for that?