US Power Sector Boom Tests Rail, Heavy Haul Limits

By Luke King

Electricity demand in the United States is experiencing unprecedented growth after years of stagnation, fundamentally reshaping the energy landscape and creating both opportunities and logistical challenges across multiple power generation sectors.

Speaking at Breakbulk Americas, a panel of logistics experts discussed how AI-driven data centers, electrification trends and industrial expansion are driving demand projections that few anticipated even a few years ago.

“Right here in Texas, ERCOT (Electric Reliability Council of Texas) predicts that our load could double through 2030, which is quite incredible,” said Britt Burt, senior vice president research, power industry at Industrial Info, who moderated the session. “We’ve seen electricity demand stagnant for quite some time now, and now we hear about demand projections that are very aggressive.”

The shift represents a dramatic change from the energy transition narrative that dominated industry discussions just a few years earlier, when renewables were expected to shoulder most new capacity additions.

“If we were talking here five years ago, even three years ago, we would have been discussing a completely different form of energy transition,” said Agustin Harriague, vice president, logistics and supply chain operational excellence at Mitsubishi Power Americas. “It was supposed to be all renewables and nitrogen and so on, but that script has shifted a little bit.

“The demand is certainly there. It has to be a combination of all these factors and sources —renewables, you need solar, you need wind for peaks, and then you need base load with nuclear and gas.”

Harriague noted that demand is expected to grow 30% by 2030 and potentially 70% by 2050, keeping OEMs, carriers and logistics partners fully occupied for years to come.

Nuclear Renaissance

The nuclear sector is experiencing a remarkable turnaround, with bipartisan political support emerging for the first time in decades. James Faux, nuclear market manager at Barnhart Crane & Rigging, outlined the changing landscape.

“What we’re looking at is not only the new build of small modular reactors and building more gigawatt reactors around the country, but there’s a huge push, for probably the first time in my lifetime, where we have both sides of the aisle in Washington agreeing that nuclear is part of the solution,” Faux said.

Plants previously slated for early decommissioning are now extending operations, while shuttered facilities like Palisades and Three Mile Island are being restarted. Decommissioned sites are also being evaluated for new nuclear construction due to their existing licensing.

However, transporting nuclear components presents significant challenges. “Small is a relative term when you’re talking about a major component that’s a hundred feet long and 20 to 28 feet in diameter and weighs 1.3 million pounds,” Faux noted, adding that routing options are particularly restrictive in regions like New England compared to the western United States.

Meanwhile, natural gas-fired power generation is seeing renewed investment as utilities and independent power producers respond to surging electricity demand. “We at Mitsubishi Power are fully booked, other OEMs are too, way into 2030,” said Harriague. “Customers are willing to pay reservation slots just to get in line and secure capacity.”

To meet demand, Mitsubishi Power is increasing capacity at its Savannah, Georgia manufacturing facility by 35% by 2026, aiming to produce 12 to 14 units annually. The company is also exploring sourcing turbines from Japan to supplement production.

Lead times for new gas turbine projects have stretched to seven years, making early planning and logistics coordination critical, particularly as projects are being developed in increasingly remote locations requiring multimodal transport solutions.

Rail Capacity a Critical Constraint

Ben Banks, president and CEO of BNSF Logistics, emphasized that infrastructure limitations — particularly rail capacity — pose significant challenges for meeting project timelines.

“I think there’s a huge opportunity for heavy haulers in the audience,” Banks said. “You’re going to be leaned on heavily over the next 10 years. I think it’s a call to action for my company and my sister company (BNSF Railway), because we have a serious lack of capacity for the right type of rail equipment, and this naturally wants to move by rail.”

Banks noted that specialized rail knowledge represents a critical skills gap. “There may be 10 people in America that know how to operate shiftable deck technology really well, and we have two or three of them,” he said. “The reality is this is a very niche market. These skills are going to be in high demand.”

An unexpected bright spot for rail is the coal sector. Plants previously scheduled for retirement are extending operations, and some facilities are even planning expansions. “BNSF Railway specifically has the largest coal franchise from a rail perspective of any class one in North America,” Banks explained, noting that the Powder River division infrastructure built around coal transport provides significant available capacity.

The panel agreed that successfully delivering the massive infrastructure buildout required will demand closer coordination across the entire supply chain.

“The question is how we can all dance to the same music, see more collaboration with EPCs, OEMs, carriers, partners, heavy haulers, 3PLs,” said Harriague. “We all have to change the paradigm on collaboration and partnership, because there are constraints. We know them, we understand them, we need to overcome them because the market is there, the demand is there.

“No excuses — we will need to deliver.”

The session was sponsored by the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association.

TOP PHOTO: (L-R): Agustin Harriague, Omar Jradi, James Faux, Ben Banks, Britt Burt. CREDIT: Marco Wang Photography

SECOND: Britt Burt moderated the panel in Houston. CREDIT: Marco Wang Photography