US Energy “Dominance,” Data Center–Driven Electricity Demand, and More

Maya Krainc, Matt Fleck, and Elizabeth Wason

Twice a month, we’re compiling the most relevant news stories from diverse sources online, connecting the latest environmental and energy economics research to global current events, real-time public discourse, and policy decisions. Keep reading, and feel free to send us your feedback.

Here are some questions we’ve been asking and addressing with our research chops lately:

The Trump administration wants to achieve “energy dominance” and reduce energy prices for consumers—can the administration do both?

Since coming into office, the Trump administration ostensibly has taken steps to achieve US “energy dominance,” which aims for the outcomes of increased fossil fuel production and leverage over other countries. These steps include unpausing approvals of facilities that export liquefied natural gas and leasing additional public lands to oil and gas producers. But the efforts may clash with the administration’s stated goal of reducing energy costs for US consumers. For example, “in the short and medium term, increased exports of natural gas will increase domestic prices,” says Resources for the Future (RFF) Fellow Daniel Raimi in a new blog post about the administration’s conflicting goals. Raimi’s post is the newest entry in RFF’s If/Then policy analysis series, which is being led by RFF researchers Alan Krupnick, Carlos Martín, and Kevin Rennert. The series will “present timely insights about substantive developments in environmental and energy policy,” says Martín in an introduction to If/Then on the Common Resources blog.

How can decisionmakers meet new electricity demand from data centers while maintaining affordable rates for households?

Meta plans to spend $837 million on a new data center in Wisconsin. The company is part of a wave of technology firms planning to build infrastructure for data storage and computation that powers artificial intelligence. Yet these data centers could leave households footing the bill, given that utility companies may raise rates for consumers to cover the costs of expanding grid infrastructure. To shield customers from this risk, a Wisconsin utility company has proposed a special rate for data centers that holds tech companies and data centers liable for the added costs of new infrastructure. Wisconsin’s case underscores the challenges that utilities and other decisionmakers are facing as electricity demand increases. RFF researchers Molly Robertson and Karen Palmer discuss these challenges and other considerations for governments, utilities, and regulators in a recent blog post. “Understanding how utilities and grid operators plan for [demand] growth more broadly has important implications for electricity reliability, affordability, and emissions,” say Robertson and Palmer.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using nuclear energy to meet new electricity demand?

A major chemical company has applied for a permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build four nuclear reactors to power a manufacturing plant in Texas. The reactors would constitute the first nuclear power plant to serve an industrial site in the United States and would drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing plant. Nuclear energy is being considered increasingly as a source of clean energy, given projected growth in US electricity demand and the ability of nuclear power plants to operate 24/7. Daniel Poneman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, joined Resources Radio last week to discuss new nuclear technologies—like the reactors planned for the chemical plant—and the feasibility of using nuclear power to meet broader energy demand and clean energy goals. “Even though nuclear power is 20 percent of our grid in terms of power generation, it’s about half of our carbon-free power generation. So, it's a very significant contribution,” says Poneman.

Expert Perspectives

In Focus: Deregulating the Clean Air Act and Air Pollutants

Last month, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to roll back regulations of harmful air pollutants, including sulfur dioxide and particulate matter. For this In Focus video, RFF Fellow Aaron Bergman discusses the Clean Air Act, which authorizes the regulation of important air pollutants; the health effects of these pollutants; and potential roadblocks to the proposed deregulation.

Trump Administration Freezes Federal Funding for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

In February, the Federal Highway Administration instructed states not to use funding that had been allocated to them through the $5-billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (except to fulfill existing obligations), which supports the expansion of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs).

“Because the future of federal investments that support charging stations is in flux, US states are facing a future in which they may become the sole provider of support for EV charging infrastructure,” say RFF Fellows Beia Spiller and Suzanne Russo, who wrote this week in Common Resources about how states are prioritizing public benefits from investments in EV infrastructure. “Achieving widespread access to EV charging stations will require government investment through charging station subsidies and operational support, particularly until EV adoption ramps up. But investments in EV charging stations can have measurable effects on surrounding communities. With input from communities, and policies grounded in research, states can move the needle toward achieving a decarbonized transportation sector and their own goals for social and economic development.”

Resources Roundup

Global Energy Outlook Report 2025: Headwinds and Tailwinds in the Energy Transition

2025 has brought significant changes to geopolitical dynamics and global markets that affect how the world produces and uses energy. To understand the future of the global energy system and what is necessary to achieve net-zero emissions, many organizations publish annual forecasts of production and consumption that are informed by a range of assumptions about policies, technological advancements, market shifts, and geopolitical developments. In RFF’s annual Global Energy Outlook report, RFF researchers bring these projections together to highlight key trends that are shaping the future of the global energy system. “New technology is having dramatic and distinct impacts around the world. We will need much more policy action to meet climate goals while ensuring affordability and security,” said RFF President and CEO Billy Pizer at a webinar this week about the report.

Revitalizing Rural Economies

Many rural communities in the United States developed around single industries, such as coal or steel. When macroeconomic changes lead to the displacement of these industries, the rural communities that depend on them can experience economic decline. Ann Eisenberg, a professor at West Virginia University, breaks down how these economic challenges came to be a reality for many rural American communities, what successful revitalization of rural economies can look like, and the potential role of the federal government in supporting revitalization efforts. “We could be making different decisions right now as a society, and we could be managing these economic transitions [in rural communities] much more proactively, responsibly, and humanely,” says Eisenberg.

Emergency Department Visits Are Expected to Increase as Temperatures Rise with Climate Change

As climate change causes global temperatures to rise, the health risks posed by extreme heat become increasingly relevant. In a new working paper from the RFF-CMCC European Institute on Economics and the Environment, researchers Luis Sarmiento, Francesco Pietro Colelli, and Filippo Pavanello look at data from Mexico to analyze the connection between high temperatures and emergency department visits. “Climate projections indicate that [emergency department] usage will increase in the coming decades due to extreme temperatures,” the researchers say.

Connecting Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change

Extreme weather events are one of the most apparent manifestations of climate change to the everyday person. The science behind attributing these observed events to human activity, known as extreme weather attribution, is critical in understanding past and future consequences of climate change. Emily Theokritoff, a research associate at Imperial College London who specializes in the field of extreme weather attribution, joined Resources Radio this week to discuss how extreme weather attribution studies are conducted, what these studies say about how human activity contributes to climate damages, and how scientists communicate with everyday people about the connections between climate change and extreme weather. “Often, we hear about the climate warming by 1.3°C at the global level, but it’s quite hard for individuals within their own life and within their own context to actually feel what this is,” says Theokritoff. “This field of [extreme weather attribution] breaks down specific events that people actually might have experienced.”

The Consequences of Repealing Clean Electricity Tax Credits for Electricity Prices and Emissions

As the Trump administration considers proposals for changes to the federal budget, two tax credits introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act are at risk of being repealed—the 45Y credit, which incentivizes companies to generate more clean electricity by paying them for each unit of electricity produced, and the 48E credit, which incentivizes companies to invest in clean energy generation or storage technology projects. In this issue brief, RFF scholars assess the effects of repealing these credits on electricity prices, emissions, and government spending.

#ChartOfTheWeek

Source: Atlas Public Policy. Chart: Washington Post.

Since 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred a surge of clean energy manufacturing projects, including facilities that manufacture components of electric vehicles. But the first quarter of 2025 has seen a sharp reversal of this trend, with a wave of canceled clean energy projects totaling nearly $8 billion, according to data from the Atlas Public Policy research group. The downturn is in stark contrast to previous years and signals mounting challenges for the clean energy industry. The Trump administration’s recent imposition of tariffs on imports, such as critical minerals and lithium-ion batteries that are necessary for electric vehicles, is expected to further hinder the advancement of clean energy projects.

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