AI in the Spotlight: The Looming Battle Over Electricity in a High-Demand Future

Douglas McIntyre and David Callaway explore the growing challenges of electricity supply as AI data centers significantly increase energy demand. They note a brewing “war over electricity,” with tech companies pursuing private deals outside traditional grids, creating regulatory and local governance issues. Meanwhile, solar and battery storage projects face delays due to permitting bottlenecks. They suggest that easing these regulatory hurdles, as Trump has proposed, could help address the energy gap, but the effectiveness of such efforts remains uncertain.