A recent report by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE, July 2025) makes it clear: The United States' electricity supply is facing a deep crisis.
🔎 Key risks highlighted by the DOE report
Massive retirements of firm capacity: By 2030, 104 GW of secure capacity (mainly coal and gas) are scheduled to be retired. In their place, mostly volatile solar and wind plants will be built, which provide little firm capacity.
Demand explosion: New data centers and AI clusters will add up to 50 GW of additional load — equivalent to the consumption of several large states.
Increased outage risk: In the "Plant Closures" scenario, annual outage hours are expected to increase 100-fold (from currently 8 hours to over 800 hours per year).
Regional dependency: Many regions will have to rely on electricity imports, which can fail quickly during extreme weather events (e.g., storms like Uri or Elliot).
Threat to economy and security: The energy crisis endangers industrial reshoring, AI innovation, and national security.
💡 What could help?
A large-scale, decentralized storage approach could be a game changer — this is where TSTM (Tubular Storage Tank Modules) come in.
Advantages of TSTM:
Firm capacity: Methane (CH₄) can be compressed, stored, and fed into existing gas turbines on demand — ideal for long periods without sun or wind.
Seasonal storage: Surplus wind and solar energy from summer can be saved for winter.
Grid relief: Local storage reduces import dependency and eases congestion on transmission networks.
Flexibility for industry and AI: Companies and data centers benefit from reliable, predictable energy supply.
National resilience: Decentralized storage strengthens infrastructure security against extreme weather and geopolitical risks.
⚖️ Caverns vs. TSTM
In the U.S., natural gas has traditionally been stored in large, stationary caverns (mainly salt formations). While this offers high withdrawal rates, it is geologically limited, expensive, and immobile.
As an alternative or supplement, TSTM modules could be used:
Instead of locking gas into large caverns, it can be stored in flexible TSTM modules. These modules simultaneously act as seasonal energy storage for volatile sources like wind and solar. This creates more security and flexibility — the stored gas can be used in many ways when needed:
Direct combustion (heat, electricity)
Conversion to hydrogen in CO₂-free processes
Use as a feedstock in industry
🚀 Conclusion
The DOE report urgently calls for rapid reform of the U.S. electricity system. However, if this reform relies on the same approaches used in the expansion of renewables over the past 20 years — while simultaneously shutting down firm power plants — then the scenario of massive blackouts will likely become a reality. Wishful thinking without large-scale seasonal storage solutions will hardly be able to guarantee a secure and stable power supply.