SLC

Salt Lake City places POWERGEN 2027 in one of the most relevant power markets in North America for the companies planning, building, operating and supplying the next generation of electricity infrastructure.

Across the Western U.S., utilities, independent power producers, EPCs and engineering firms, and major equipment OEMs are responding to the same pressures reshaping the industry: accelerating load growth, large new data center demand, tighter reliability requirements, generation replacement needs, transmission constraints, and the growing urgency to deliver new capacity on realistic timelines.

The Mountain West has become a real-world proving ground for the issues that matter most to POWERGEN’s audience: how to add dispatchable capacity, modernize existing fleets, integrate renewables and storage, serve large new loads, and move projects from planning to execution.

A Power Market in Rapid Expansion

Electricity demand across the Western grid is accelerating faster than utilities and market participants projected just a few years ago.

20%+
projected electricity demand growth across the Western grid this decade
166 GW
of new U.S. peak electricity demand expected within the next five years
90 GW
of projected demand from data centers alone this decade

U.S. electricity consumption is expected to reach record highs in 2026 and 2027, driven largely by  AI infrastructure, hyperscale data centers, advanced manufacturing, electrification and population growth.

For utilities, that means new urgency around reliability, capacity additions and infrastructure investment. For IPPs and developers, it means a larger pipeline of opportunities tied to bankable, executable projects. For EPCs and engineering firms, it means growing demand for partners who can help navigate siting, interconnection, design and delivery. For OEMs, it means a market increasingly focused on equipment availability, project readiness, performance and lifecycle value.

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The Mountain West Is One of the Fastest-Growing Energy Regions 

The Interior West — including Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico — is emerging as one of the fastest-growing electricity markets in the country. Utilities across the region are forecasting 50%+ electricity demand growth over the next decade.

Utilities such as Rocky Mountain Power (PacifiCorp) are already planning for significant load growth as hyperscale data center development accelerates across the West.

Utah Is Emerging as a Major Data Center Hub

Salt Lake City and the surrounding Utah region are rapidly becoming a destination for hyperscale data center development thanks to several structural advantages:

  • Reliable and scalable regional power resources
  • Strong transmission and distribution infrastructure
  • Strategic connectivity for western data networks
  • Available land supporting large hyperscale campuses
  • A cooler climate that supports efficient data center cooling

These advantages are fueling rapid expansion across the Salt Lake Valley.

699%
projected growth in regional data center capacity by 2030
1,200+ MW
of expected data center power capacity in the Salt Lake market
200–1,000 MW
required by a single hyperscale data center campus

Some proposed AI facilities could require gigawatt-scale electricity demand, placing Utah at the center of discussions around large-load interconnection, generation planning, and infrastructure investment.

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A Region Balancing Fleet Transition and Reliability

The Mountain West is navigating many of the same pressures reshaping the broader U.S. power sector, including rising demand, fleet transition, reliability concerns and the need to bring new capacity online on practical timelines.

As coal assets retire or convert, utilities and developers across the region are making consequential decisions about replacement resources, renewable integration, fuel flexibility and long-term infrastructure planning. Projects like the Intermountain Power Project reflect the kinds of choices increasingly relevant to POWERGEN attendees, from hydrogen-ready gas generation to resource adequacy and system modernization.

Across the region, those pressures are driving investment in:

  • Dispatchable gas generation
  • Utility-scale renewables
  • Long-duration energy storage
  • Transmission expansion
  • Hydrogen-ready infrastructure

Where Power and Digital Infrastructure Converge

The presence of multiple hyperscale data center campuses within close proximity to Salt Lake City creates a unique opportunity for POWERGEN attendees to explore the intersection of power generation and digital infrastructure.

For utilities, IPPs, EPCs and major equipment suppliers, that means a front-row view into the challenges and opportunities tied to large-load growth: new generation needs, infrastructure readiness, interconnection pressure, reliability planning and faster project execution.

This regional ecosystem strengthens POWERGEN’s role as the event where the power generation industry and digital infrastructure leaders come together to address the future of electricity demand and the systems required to serve it.

SLC

Hosting POWERGEN 2027 in Salt Lake City puts the event at the center of one of the fastest-growing energy markets in the United States.