Electricity demand may be surging more than initially thought, according to a new BloombergNEF analysis, and some Senate Democrats are pinning data center-linked cost increases on President Donald Trump.
Artificial intelligence (AI) data center electricity demand is forecasted to be 36 percent higher by 2035 than previously projected by BloombergNEF, according to the Monday analysis. The report details difficulties in balancing America’s AI race with affordability and grid reliability, a concern local, state and federal politicians have highlighted.
Some Democrats have pinned soaring electricity costs on Trump, with Democrat Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Ron Wyden of Oregon, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont writing to select cabinet members on Nov. 10. The Senators accused Trump of driving up energy costs by cracking down on wind and solar while “cozying up” to Big Tech as it expands electricity-guzzling data centers.
However, some Democrat green energy policies at the state level that were championed by former President Joe Biden restrict energy supply and risk grid destabilization as they phase out reliable resources like coal while pushing for wind and solar, according to several energy sector experts that spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Democrats, climate alarmists, and their media allies are shifting the narrative away from their failed wind and solar agenda. As part-time energy sources, wind and solar fail to replace reliable full-time natural gas, coal, or nuclear power. Biden’s policies heavily subsidized these renewables while mandating the closure of coal plants with decades of life left, leading to electricity shortages, skyrocketing prices, and unnecessary costs driven by climate ideology,” President of Truth in Energy and Climate Frank Lasee told the DCNF. “Now, they’re blaming rising demand from data centers — which holds some truth if states don’t require them to cover 100% of their infrastructure costs. But the primary culprit behind higher electricity rates remains Democrat climate policies, which are unaffordable and unsustainable for Americans.”
The new BloombergNEF report projects that data centers will require 106 gigawatts (GW) by 2035, up from the 78 GWs projected in April. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected that demand from data centers and cryptocurrency mining will contribute to electricity costs increasing by 2.6% in 2026.
The grid watchdog known as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned in an August 2023 report that Biden’s green energy agenda could sacrifice grid reliability. NERC warned again most recently in its 2025-2026 Winter Reliability Assessment that areas dependent on intermittent power sources and strained by electrification or data centers may be more at risk for outages during cold snaps.
The Biden administration pushed for wind and solar through billions of dollars in subsidies, loans and grants all while he vowed to shut down coal “plants down all across America.”
Though Big Tech companies have historically supported green energy initiatives, they have also been scrambling to find reliable power sources to support AI, even looking to revive shuttered coal and nuclear plants.
Steve Milloy, senior fellow at the Energy and Environment Legal Institute, told the DCNF that Big Tech “failed to foresee its own electricity needs” as it played the “cheerleader for green energy.” Milloy continued to say that Democrat policies are at fault for the impending grid crisis despite their determination to point the finger at Trump and others, including grid operators, utilities and Big Tech.
“Utility managements and the wind and solar industry profiteered from taxpayer subsidies earmarked for unreliable technology everyone knew would be inadequate for increased demand. None of this was a ‘mistake’ so much as it was folly and fraud,” Milloy told the DCNF. “President Trump bears no responsibility for soaring electricity prices. Democrats and the Green New Scam industries own that. Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act that provided more than a trillion dollars in taxpayer money for the wind turbines, solar panels and utility batteries that have weakened our grid,” Milloy said. “The grid was already in trouble even before the Green New Scam and recent AI boom.”
America’s energy infrastructure is aging and upgrades are necessary, according to the Department of Energy (DOE). However, some state policies also mandate stringent “renewable” portfolio standards, leading to the premature closure of power plants and requiring utilities to purchase wind and solar power “even when it is not the most competitive fuel on the market,” according to research from the Institute for Energy Research (IER).
Grid experts previously cautioned that the Biden Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules could have undermined power reliability all while major grid operators sued the Biden EPA over the agency’s draconian mandates on power plants over concerns that the regulations could drive the premature retirement of reliable electricity sources.
In contrast, the Trump EPA has moved to roll back numerous regulations, including the 2009 Endangerment Finding. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has argued that repealing it “will be the largest deregulatory action in the history of America” and would be tantamount to “driving a dagger through the heart of the climate change religion.”
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