If President Trump’s tariff strategy succeeds in sparking a revival in US manufacturing, one consequence will be surging demand for power. We are already seeing electricity demand starting to pick up after 15 years of stagnation, driven by new data centers for AI and a wave of factory-building for semiconductors and batteries that is already under way. How can the electricity industry increase capacity to meet that growing demand and provide the power that the country needs?

That’s the question for this special episode of the Energy Gang, recorded live in front of an invited audience at the headquarters of the American Clean Power association in Washington DC. Host Ed Crooks talks to Chris Shelton, the Chief Product Officer at AES, Travis Kavulla, the Vice-President for Regulatory Affairs at NRG Energy, and MJ Shiao, the Vice President of Supply Chain and Manufacturing at American Clean Power.

They discuss whether electricity demand growth is really happening, which technologies are best placed to provide new supply, and who will end up paying for the investment needed to increase capacity. The Trump administration’s focus has been on “baseload” power, particularly new natural gas power plants. But there are reasons why they cannot be a complete solution. Renewable energy and battery storage also have important roles to play.

The group also assess the impacts of changing energy policies under a Republican administration and Congress. What will be the fate of tax credits for low-carbon energy under the Inflation Reduction Act? And will moves to expedite permitting and environmental approvals make it easier to build all kinds of new infrastructure, including power and energy facilities, in the US?

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Negative feedback: reversing carbon emissions

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