Exhibit Where Energy Demand Is Growing Fastest

The Western U.S. is entering one of the largest electricity demand expansions in decades. Rapid growth in AI, hyperscale data centers, electrification, and advanced manufacturing is driving unprecedented demand for new generation, grid infrastructure, and energy technologies.

Hosting POWERGEN in Salt Lake City places your company at the center of one of North America’s fastest-growing power markets.

 

SLC

Why the mountain west (opens in a new tab)
Mountain West Projects (opens in a new tab)
Why Exhibit (opens in a new tab)

The Numbers Behind the Western Power Surge

20%+
Projected electricity demand growth across the Western grid this decade.
166 GW
New U.S. peak electricity demand expected within the next five years — 7× higher than forecasts just three years ago.
90 GW
Projected new electricity demand from data centers alone this decade.
150+ GW
Total power demand from operational and planned U.S. data centers.

Record Demand Ahead 

U.S. electricity consumption is expected to reach  all-time highs in 2026 and 2027 due to AI and electrification. 

Why the Mountain West Is One of the Fastest-Growing Energy Markets 

The Interior West — including Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico — is experiencing some of the fastest electricity demand growth in the country. 

50%+
Electricity demand growth forecast by utilities in the Mountain West over the next decade.
7 GW
Potential new electricity demand from data centers within the regional utility footprint.
80+ million people
Served by the Western Interconnection power grid across 14 states.

► The result: massive investment in generation, storage, transmission, and grid modernization.

Salt Lake City Image

Why Salt Lake City Is an Emerging Energy & Data Center Hub 

Salt Lake City is rapidly becoming a major destination for hyperscale data centers and energy investment. 

699%
Projected growth in regional data center capacity by 2030.
1,200+ MW
Expected data center power capacity in the Salt Lake market by the end of the decade.
200–1,000 MW
Power required by a single hyperscale data center campus — equivalent to a mid-sized city.
2×
Utah’s statewide initiative aims to double power generation capacity within the next decade.

Gigawatt-scale demand

Some proposed AI data centers could require  up to 1.5 GW of power — among the largest electricity loads in the world.

 

Banner Image

Massive Infrastructure Investment Is Underway 

To support this surge in demand, utilities and developers across the region are investing in:

  • New natural gas generation
  • Utility-scale solar and wind
  • Large conventional nuclear and advanced reactors
  • Long-duration energy storage
  • Transmission expansion
  • Hydrogen and advanced energy technologies
  • Microgrids and resilient infrastructure

For suppliers and technology providers, this represents one of the largest power infrastructure buildouts in modern history.

Power Projects Shaping the Mountain West Generation Buildout 

 The Mountain West is absorbing more new generation investment, driven by data center load growth, coal retirements and Western grid reliability pressure. The projects below represent where that capital is actually moving. 

Powering the AI & Data Center Boom 

The Stratos Project is a proposed off‑grid hyperscale data center campus in northern Utah capable of supporting up to 9 GW of on‑site natural gas generation. If developed as planned, it would rank among the largest behind‑the‑meter power deployments ever proposed in the United States.

Joule Capital Partners is developing a large data center campus in Millard County powered by a fleet of Caterpillar’s G3520K generator sets and support equipment, as well as 1.1 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of battery storage. Construction is expected to begin in 2026, reflecting the speed and modularity driving data center‑led power development.

Creekstone’s Delta Gigasite is a planned hyperscale data center campus adjacent to Intermountain Power, with long‑term capacity approaching 10 GW. The project would combine near-term gas, solar, and contracted capacity from the adjacent Intermountain Power Project with the evaluation of up to 2 GW of advanced nuclear.

Advanced Nuclear Moves From Concept to Construction 

The Brigham City initiative is a public‑private effort to build manufacturing, workforce training, and deployment capacity around Holtec’s SMR‑300 reactor. It represents a coordinated approach to establishing a regional advanced nuclear supply chain, not just a single plant.

TerraPower's Natrium project in Kemmerer is a 345 MW sodium-cooled fast reactor paired with molten salt energy storage to enable flexible output. Non-nuclear site work has been underway since June 2024, and the NRC issued its construction permit in March 2026. It is one of the most prominent U.S. demonstrations of advanced nuclear replacing retiring coal generation.

As part of its Delta Gigasite development, Creekstone Energy is evaluating advanced nuclear reactors, including SMRs, to support long‑term data center baseload demand. Commercial nuclear deployment is targeted for the 2030–2035 timeframe, pending feasibility and licensing outcomes.

 New Dispatchable Capacity 

IPP Renewed replaces 1,800 MW of retired coal generation with 840 MW of hydrogen‑capable combined‑cycle gas turbines at one of the West's most strategic power sites. Both units reached commercial operation in 2025.

Arizona Public Service’s Desert Sun project is a proposed two‑phase natural gas plant of up to 2,000 MW designed to support rapid load growth. The project introduces a subscription model in which large data center customers directly pay for new generation capacity.

SRP’s Marigold Energy Center is a proposed hybrid facility combining 675 MW of natural gas, 600 MW of solar, and 400 MW of battery storage at a single site south of Phoenix. The project illustrates how utilities are pairing dispatchable power with renewables to maximize system flexibility and infrastructure efficiency.

PacifiCorp’s 2025 IRP outlines more than 2,200 MW of new natural gas generation alongside long‑term solar and advanced nuclear development. As host utility for POWERGEN 2027, PacifiCorp's plan signals where major capital investment and procurement activity will focus across the Western grid.

Always‑On Clean Power 

Fervo Energy’s Cape Station is the world’s largest enhanced geothermal system under construction, with Phase I delivering 100 MW to the grid in 2026 and Phase II bringing an additional 400 MW online by 2028, with permits allowing expansion to 2 GW.

Why Exhibit at POWERGEN in Salt Lake City 

POWERGEN connects your company directly with the utilities, developers, EPCs, technology leaders, and energy innovators making critical power generation investment and purchase decisions today.

Exhibiting in Salt Lake City positions your business at the center of: 

Rapid data center expansion 

AI-driven electricity demand 

Massive grid infrastructure investment 

Growing gas, onsite power,
renewables and energy storage markets

A rapidly expanding 
Mountain West energy economy 

Be Part of the Energy Market Transformation 

As electricity demand surges across the West, the need for new generation technologies, equipment, and solutions has never been greater.

POWERGEN in Salt Lake City is where the power industry comes to do business.

Exhibit at POWERGEN (opens in a new tab)