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COLUMBUS, OHIO – JULY 24: The COL4 AI-ready data center is located on a seven-acre campus at the convergence point of long-haul fiber and regional carrier fiber networks on July 24, 2025 in Columbus, Ohio. COL4 spans 256,000 square feet with 50 MW of power across three data halls. There are concerns that new AI data centers are hiking up electricity rates due to their massive energy consumption for training and operating AI models, coupled with the need for advanced cooling systems. The Ohio Tax Credit Authority has offered sales tax exemptions and incentives for new AI data centers in Ohio for development costs. (Photo by Eli Hiller/For The Washington Post via Getty Images) The Washington Post via Getty Images Artificial intelligence is forcing utility operators and policymakers alike to collaborate to address a potential energy dilemma—how to handle the expected growth in electricity demand from data centers. But there is a fundamental contradiction between what the White House wants and market demand: The Trump Administration would like traditional baseload fuels like coal, natural gas, and nuclear to take the lead. But the grid screams for speed. It’s about keeping prices down, which means we need to bring on solar and wind energy—the resources that make up most of the electrons now in the interconnection queue. “We have an administration hostile to clean energy: when you have rising demand, and you are not allowing the supply to increase, prices are going to go up. And right now, the administration is restricting new supply—the most quickly available new energy. The natural gas supply chain is constrained. The interconnection queues are full of solar and energy storage,” says Sean Gallagher, senior vice president of policy for the Solar Energy Industries Association. His comments came during a symposium at the Intersolar and Energy…

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Filed under: News - @ March 1, 2026 3:27 pm