U.S. Climate and Utility Policy

An Associated Press report details how surging electricity demand from AI‑driven data centers is pushing major U.S. utilities to reconsider or weaken clean‑energy plans, with Nevada’s NV Energy warning it will need roughly three times the power required to run Las Vegas just to serve proposed data‑center projects and likely cannot do so without more fossil fuels, putting the state’s 50%‑renewables‑by‑2030 mandate at risk. In North Carolina, the largest utility is revising its long‑term plan by delaying coal‑plant retirements and planning additional natural‑gas capacity after legislators scrapped an interim emissions‑cut target, raising doubts about the state’s 2050 net‑zero goal. NextEra Energy, a major supplier of commercial power across more than a dozen states, has dropped its own 2045 zero‑emissions pledge, citing a near‑term 'demand for all forms of power generation' as data centers and new manufacturing soak up capacity. The Trump administration is actively encouraging states to lean on coal to meet this growth, while tech firms that once touted aggressive climate commitments are slowing or reshaping those pledges to keep up with AI demand. Environmental groups warn that data centers are becoming one of the largest emerging threats to U.S. climate targets, even as industry advocates note that the sector accounted for about half of all corporate clean‑energy purchases in 2024 but say renewable projects and grid upgrades are not coming online fast enough.