To address the electricity shortage challenges posed by artificial intelligence, the "Grid Utilization Alliance" has been established in North America.
Alphabet and Tesla Motors have taken the lead in forming the Grid Utilization Alliance. On Tuesday local time, the alliance, named "Utilize," was officially launched. It includes air conditioning firm Carrier, distributed energy service provider Sparkfund, smart meter company SPAN, home energy firm Renew Home, and data center developer Verrus. The coalition aims to lower electricity costs and significantly increase power load capacity by enhancing the utilization rate of the U.S. power grid.
The alliance believes that by fully leveraging the existing grid, the United States could save consumers over $100 billion in electricity expenses over the next decade and unlock substantial new capacity for electricity consumption. It advocates using readily available technologies to smarter manage grid capacity, including battery energy storage, demand response, and virtual power plants.
On the supply side, Tesla Motors contributes energy storage and virtual power plant technologies, SPAN provides smart electrical panels, and Carrier manufactures heat pump equipment. On the demand side, focusing on the electricity needs of companies like Alphabet and Verrus, technologies such as battery storage and demand response are employed to activate idle capacity in the U.S. grid, addressing power bottlenecks caused by the surge in AI computing demands.
Notably, just a week ago, representatives from seven companies—Microsoft, Alphabet, OpenAI, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Inc., xAI, and Oracle—signed a voluntary power supply commitment at the White House. These tech giants pledged to build, introduce, or purchase power supplies for new AI data centers themselves, aiming to prevent skyrocketing electricity costs for U.S. residents due to surging demand from the AI industry.
The narrative of electricity shortages in North America continues to unfold. According to a report from the International Energy Agency, global electricity demand from data centers is projected to rise to 945 terawatt-hours by 2030, equivalent to Japan's current annual total electricity consumption. OPEC forecasts an even higher figure of 1,500 terawatt-hours, tripling the 2023 level.
China Galaxy Securities predicts that electricity demand from AI data centers in North America will increase from 176 terawatt-hours in 2023 to 325-580 terawatt-hours by 2028, accounting for 6.7% to 12% of total U.S. electricity demand. Lagging grid upgrades are exacerbating the power shortfall, making the activation of idle capacity the most economically viable solution.
JPMorgan Chase notes that China possesses global competitiveness in key technologies such as high-voltage direct current transmission and smart grid management software, with delivery cycles of just 10-12 months, significantly shorter than the 1.5 to 2 years required by European and American manufacturers. This gives China a distinct comparative advantage in the global wave of grid upgrades.
A recent report from Soochow Securities highlights that national-level capacity compensation electricity pricing policies have been introduced, with subsequent detailed rules and lists expected from various provinces. Internationally, energy storage for data centers in the U.S. continues to advance, with numerous projects in Europe and the Middle East driving strong demand for large-scale storage. Beyond residential storage policies in Australia, countries like the UK and Poland are enhancing subsidies for home storage, entering a new growth cycle for residential storage. Commercial and industrial storage continues to grow steadily. Global energy storage installations are projected to increase by over 60% in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 30-50% from 2027 to 2029, reinforcing a strong outlook for large-scale and residential storage leaders.
Multiple concept stocks have seen increased positions by leveraged funds. This year's government work report explicitly called for efforts to build a new type of power system, accelerate smart grid construction, develop new energy storage, and expand the application of green electricity. Industry insiders believe this indicates the new energy storage sector is poised to gradually enter a new stage driven by market-oriented profitability. Particularly amid global energy security concerns fueled by geopolitical conflicts, industry prosperity may further improve.
According to data from an East Money Information concept板块, approximately 400 A-share stocks are currently involved in the energy storage concept, with a combined market capitalization exceeding 12 trillion yuan. Contemporary Amperex Technology, BYD, China Yangtze Power, Sungrow Power, and NARI Technology Corporation rank among the top five by size. Nearly 20 stocks, including China Energy Engineering Corporation, TBEA Co., and Dongyang Guang have market capitalizations above 100 billion yuan.
Since the beginning of the year, the energy storage concept sector has performed well, with nearly 80% of constituent stocks recording share price gains. Excluding new listings, twelve energy storage concept stocks have seen their prices double. Among them, YN Energy Co., Ltd. led with a surge of 219%, while YN Energy and Weiling Holdings both rose over 150%.
In terms of capital flow, data from East Money Information's Choice platform shows that since March, 31 energy storage concept stocks have received net financing purchases exceeding 100 million yuan. BYD attracted substantial leveraged fund buying of 1.186 billion yuan. China Energy Engineering Corporation saw leveraged funds increase positions by 535 million yuan within the month. Kehua Data Co., Ltd. and Goldwind Science & Technology Co., Ltd. each had net financing purchases over 300 million yuan. NARI Technology Corporation, Zongshen Power Co., Ltd., and five other stocks also received net financing purchases exceeding 200 million yuan.
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