The rise of artificial intelligence and the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency will continue to push electricity consumption to record highs in 2025 and 2026.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO), said power demand will rise to 4,193 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) in 2025 and 4,283 billion kWh in 2026 from a record 4,097 billion kWh in 2024.
Data centers will account for the most significant rise in electricity usage, though the report also said American homes and businesses will use more electricity for heat and transportation.
Equipment used to capture carbon dioxide emissions is seen at a coal-fired power plant owned by NRG Energy in Thompsons, Texas. (REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder / Reuters Photos)
The EIA said natural gas' share of power generation would slide from 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026. Coal's share will hold at 16% in 2025, the same as 2024, before easing to 15% in 2026, as renewable output rises.
The percentage of renewable generation will rise from 23% in 2024 to 25% in 2025 and 27% in 2026, while nuclear power's share will hold at 19% in 2025, the same as 2024, before easing to 18% in 2026, according to the outlook.
It raises the question of how the U.S. will meet that demand, as electricity usage will only increase beyond 2026. Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group and a FOX Business contributor, said the U.S. needs an "all-hands-on-deck" approach.
The EIA said natural gas' share of power generation would slide from 42% in 2024 to 40% in 2025 and 2026. (Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Flynn said the Trump administration has started well. He said it "has done everything they can to use every type of energy to meet the demand that's going to take to meet these challenges. Not only did they sign executive orders to boost coal production in the United States, but they are also trying to streamline and deploy advanced nuclear reactor technologies. The administration has also moved to designate artificial intelligence data centers as critical defense infrastructure."
Politics plays a role as well. Flynn says the U.S. lost valuable time in the four years Joe Biden was president, as he focused almost entirely on climate change. Biden did not put a "lot of thought into what impact that would have on the real-world economy and our national security."
As for the best power source that is ready to meet the challenge, Flynn says there is no singular cure.
Data centers will account for the most significant rise in electricity usage.
"The power source that is best and most sufficient to meet this demand depends on what part of the country you're in and what you're trying to accomplish. Obviously, we want to talk about nuclear energy, and modular atomic energy plants are one way to meet this demand," Flynn said. "But in the meantime, natural gas is obviously one of the fuels that is going to drive this."
Reuters contributed to this report.