America’s ‘Golden Age’ Requires Energy Dominance

Encouraging AI proposals will require vast amounts of energy we’re currently leaving in the ground

By David A. Cowan, writer on Substack at The American System and non-resident fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation

President Trump announced the arrival of a “Golden Age of America” in his Second Inaugural Address, and he might just be right. Blending his signature hyperbole and pro-American rhetoric with some techno-optimism, Trump promised to make the United States energy dominant, and authorized a swath of executive actions to put that pledge into effect. Much debate on U.S. energy policy has been spent on the metrics of electric vehicle mandates and offshore drilling, but the most pressing issue is how to meet energy demand from the artificial intelligence boom. Trump made his first big infrastructure event all about AI, announcing a $500 billion investment over the next four years for the new Stargate initiative run by OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, starting with a new data center in Texas. But this simply won’t be possible without huge amounts of additional power.

Goldman Sachs estimates that the global energy demand for data centers will increase by 165% by 2030 because of the accelerating growth of AI, which would result in data centers using 8% of all U.S. power. AI currently uses around 30 times more computing power than standard search engines like Google, and that means using more electricity. The capabilities and performance of AI have scaled up dramatically in recent years (just look at how much the AI videos of Will Smith eating spaghetti have gone from pure nightmare fuel to looking almost real). While we do not know exactly how quickly AI will develop, leading voices such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei believe AI could actually surpass human intelligence in the coming years. What we do know is that the U.S. is home to some of the best talent and most innovative companies in the world with vast sources of private capital to back them up, making AI an immensely valuable asset for American prosperity and security.

The huge leaps forward in AI that likely await us over the next few years will demand a massive expansion in these data centers that are incredibly energy intensive. DeepSeek’s dramatic entry has already sent US tech stocks tumbling, but Jevons Paradox would suggest that energy demand will still dramatically increase. While the energy efficiency of AI will improve, big increases in computing power from increased consumption will inevitably require corresponding increases in conventional power. And recent upticks in electric vehicles, cloud storage, and crypto mining have already put stress on an outdated domestic power grid with lines that are sometimes 50 years old, burdened by restrictive permitting rules and clean-energy targets.

The power grid is already struggling with the present levels of demand, even in urban metropolises like Atlanta, Georgia. Texas suffered severe power outages in the winter of 2021 partly because of its outdated grid infrastructure.  

There is a temptation to see renewables as the solution—like in Texas, which has major potential for wind and solar. But this approach is built on highly wishful thinking. The wind doesn’t always blow, the sun doesn’t always shine, and battery storage is prohibitively expensive for wind and solar to replace other power sources. And the need goes beyond new ventures, AI and otherwise. Increasing energy demands and exports without increasing supply would be ruinous for American families and businesses, which is why Trump’s executive actions on energy dominance are crucial. The U.S. has enormous energy we’re currently leaving in the ground. Energy dominance—and the benefits it could bring—means extracting much more of it.

Declaring a national energy emergency, loosening permitting and NEPA rules, approving drilling in Alaska, and rescinding President Biden’s executive orders on climate will all smooth the path to energy dominance. But all that extra capacity is no good if it can’t be transmitted to new data centers, or if data centers cannot build on-site power plants. A data center can require between one and five gigawatts a year, and the new Stargates will be approaching the upper level of demand. Data centers also need very high levels of firm capacity. This means either having good connections to a reliable power grid or building on-site coal, gas, or nuclear power plants.

Taking the U.S. into a Golden Age of energy dominance will also mean thinking bigger about the energies we rely on. While coal and gas cannot be sidelined, nuclear should form the basis for these new, long-term energy needs. Advanced nuclear reactors have been used to power submarines for decades. Nuclear is a proven technology that could help accelerate the construction of new data centers. We have already seen 25 gigawatts of SMR capacity for data centers announced, creating an exciting new market for nuclear power. Large nuclear plants are also needed and can be built on decommissioned sites, such as the Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, the site of a partial nuclear meltdown, and V.C. Summer Nuclear Station in South Carolina. Energy dominance will forever be out of reach if Washington doesn’t plan ahead for the massive increase in demand coming from the AI boom.

The Biden administration recognized this problem, but did so too late to change course because of the progressive Left’s sclerotic aversion to risk-taking. In the last days of his presidency, Biden signed executive orders to support new data centers for AI. But as with so much of the Biden industrial policy, many promising ideas were undermined by intrusive rules around DEI requirements and clean energy policies as well as an overemphasis on state spending over state design. Progressive ideology was getting in the way of just building things. As Marc Andreessen has said, Trump “is world-class on real estate.” The president should draw on his instincts to build the vital infrastructure the U.S. needs to beat China in the race for AI.

To start this critical work, the president has already signed an executive order for removing barriers to AI and reviewing Biden’s execution actions. The action plan should include a National AI Energy Strategy. Working with the Department of Energy, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology and the Special Advisor for AI and Crypto should provide a thorough analysis of how America’s energy needs will change with the ascension of AI, identify the vulnerabilities in the power grid that currently exist, and put forward proposals for regulatory reform that can remove bottlenecks and fast-track projects. Talking about AI safety will be nothing more than an academic exercise if the U.S. cannot allow the sector to flourish. AI is changing much more quickly than clean-energy technology, so it will have to be gas and nuclear that backs it up.

But more remains to be done—and quickly. The Defense Production Act should be invoked immediately to free major data center projects from burdensome regulation, approve building on federal land, and get priority access to the power grid. Doing this rapidly would send a powerful signal to states that data center expansion is a national priority. The administration should also explore how unspent funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and other Biden-era legislation can be directed toward supporting infrastructure upgrades to the power grid.

There is a role for Congress in this process, too. Both parties have recognized the need for better energy infrastructure to support AI development, with bipartisan legislation proposed in both chambers of Congress providing more funds for research and development, empowering the Department of Energy and National Laboratories, and increasing data center funding. The Department of Energy Artificial Intelligence Act and Department of Energy AI Act should be reintroduced and passed through Congress. Such action would reinforce industrial policy as part of a modern economic consensus.

AI will not fix all of the nation’s problems, and it carries risks that should be debated and understood. But America’s AI potential cannot be achieved without bold action on energy. Unleashing energy dominance would have additional benefits for reindustrializing the country and cutting people’s bills. Cheap and abundant energy is the secret sauce for rapid economic growth. And it would build on the success of the CHIPS and Science Act, which is already showing impressive results in Arizona and beyond.

There are still pitfalls in place that Biden did not resolve, which Trump has an opportunity to overcome. As we approach the Semiquincentennial in 2026, it might be time to follow Andreessen’s advice and revive Nixon’s Project Independence to achieve both energy and AI dominance. It would ensure Trump’s energy and tech legacy is truly transformative and can help future generations keep the flame of American greatness alive.