The Future of American Energy: Gridlock, Growth, and a Race Against Time By Connor Stout (Denison University) and Gabriel Philipp (Siena College)
Connor Stout, left and Gabriel Philipp, right. At the 2025 Politico Energy Summit on June 10th, leading lawmakers, CEOs, policy advocates, and former regulators gathered to dissect the energy future of the United States. Beneath the technical language and party lines, a powerful theme emerged; namely that the U.S. is heading into a period of intensifying energy demand, regulatory turbulence, and geopolitical competition. While consensus formed around some core issues, deep divisions remain over how to meet the moment. The Upcoming Energy Crisis: The unofficial theme of the summit was that the U.S. needs more energy in the upcoming decade. Nearly every speaker touched on the idea that the current energy infrastructure will not be capable of supporting the growth of artificial intelligence, data centers, and onshoring of manufacturing. AI, in particular, dominated the conversation. Industry leaders stressed that without a rapid expansion in power generation the U.S. could lose its techno...