Data Centers Are Emerging as Key Players in Grid Stability

As energy systems face increasing strain from rising demand and the transition to renewables, flexibility is becoming the new gold standard for grid stability. Surprisingly, data centers—once seen solely as power-hungry infrastructure—are stepping up to meet the challenge. With the ability to rapidly reduce consumption or activate standby power during price spikes or grid emergencies, these facilities are helping stabilize the grid in real-time. Their responsiveness makes the entire system more resilient, offering utilities a unique and valuable partner in balancing supply and demand. It’s a shift that highlights how digital infrastructure can serve as both a driver and a safeguard of modern energy systems.

Darcy Neigum, VP of Electric Supply of Montana-Dakota Utilities and Nick Phillips of Applied Digital breaks down how this plays out on the ground. They share how partnerships with data centers are giving utilities a new kind of operational agility—where quick load reductions and coordinated energy use directly support grid stability and system-wide reliability.

Recent Episodes

In Ellendale, the sound of laughter, cheers, and the thwack of pickleball paddles marked more than just a summer afternoon—it marked a testament to what a united community can accomplish. The unveiling of the new pickleball courts, a project made possible through collaboration between the town, local sponsors, and Applied Digital, wasn’t just about…

As AI adoption accelerates at an unprecedented pace—ChatGPT alone sees 2.5 billion daily prompts just two and a half years after launch—digital infrastructure is racing to keep up. At the center of this transformation are purpose-built data centers, evolving from air-cooled Bitcoin facilities to liquid-cooled “AI factories” designed to power the next generation of…

AI infrastructure is evolving at breakneck speed, and the real challenge is no longer just designing next-generation data centers—it’s executing them at scale. As demand for AI-ready facilities grows, operators must adapt to immense increases in power density, new cooling technologies, and unconventional deployment locations. Power density requirements for AI workloads are pushing the…