Understanding Load Growth and Energy Affordability

About this episode

The episode discusses energy affordability and load growth in the context of rising energy demand from data centers and the implications for U.S. energy policy.

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) held a briefing on commonsense technologies and solutions to keep energy costs low and meet rising demand. The rapid growth in energy demand from data centers has raised energy affordability conversations in households across the country. And on Capitol Hill, energy affordability might be the major theme of energy policy discussions. This panel covered a broad portfolio of commercially-available technologies and resources—from energy efficiency to renewable energy to natural gas—that are essential to understand in order to ensure that the U.S. energy system can continue to grow and promote domestic prosperity, encourage innovation, and provide opportunities for economic development. The briefing shared new findings from the 2026 edition of the Sustainable Energy in America Factbook. The Factbook provides valuable year-over-year data and insights on the U.S. energy transformation. It examines trends in data centers and artificial intelligence along with the ways in which permitting and siting as well as federal appropriations impact the deployment of modern energy solutions…

Topics covered

• energy affordability
• load growth
• renewable energy
• energy efficiency
• data centers
• economic development

Keywords

• energy affordability
• load growth
• data centers
• renewable energy
• energy efficiency
• Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE)

Books & works: Sustainable Energy in America Factbook

Places: United States

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