Electricity Has No Color: Let’s Stop Pretending It Does

The U.S. is at the start of a surge in electricity demand unlike anything seen before. The Department of Energy now projects U.S. power demand could double by 2050—requiring the equivalent of building 300 new Hoover Dams. That’s not hypothetical—it’s already underway.

Electrification of transport and manufacturing plays a role, but the game-changer is artificial intelligence (AI). Advanced processors powering AI can each draw as much electricity as an average U.S. home. The newest hyperscale data centers consume as much power as the city of Seattle—and dozens are in development.

This isn’t just a tech-sector issue; it’s a nationwide wake-up call. In Northern Virginia, the dominant utility projects an 85% increase in demand within 15 years. American Electric Power, which serves 11 states, has 15 GW of new demand from industrial customers waiting to plug in—much of it from data centers. Texas expects peak demand to nearly double in just six years. Our appetite for electricity is outpacing anything utilities have prepared for.