Data Centers Helped Create Our Energy Affordability Crisis. They Can Also Help Solve It.

The op-ed by L. Michelle Moore, CEO of Groundswell and former Tennessee Valley Authority board member, asserts that the current AI boom, while contributing to soaring energy demand and electricity rates, also presents a unique opportunity to address America's growing energy affordability crisis. Moore contends that the estimated 35% to 50% surge in U.S. electricity demand by 2040, largely fueled by AI data centers and manufacturing reshoring, necessitates unprecedented investment in power generation and transmission infrastructure. She notes that utilities are planning $1.4 trillion in infrastructure investment over the next five years, costs that traditionally fall on ratepayers. Moore highlights a critical problem: while new infrastructure is needed, many American households face escalating power bills, exceeding inflation. She suggests that rather than solely relying on new power plants, a significant portion of energy investment should target home energy upgrades and efficiency measures. These solutions, she argues, are often the most rapidly deployable and least costly ways to create new capacity, simultaneously addressing wealth and opportunity gaps. As an example, Moore points to LaGrange, Georgia, where Google's new data center in the Georgia International Business Park committed $1 million to Groundswell's SOUL (Save On Utilities Long-term) home energy efficiency program. This funding will enable home-efficiency upgrades and necessary repairs for at least 55 low- to moderate-income homeowners, significantly reducing their electricity bills. Moore emphasizes that while such corporate philanthropy is currently the exception, municipal leaders and public power utilities are uniquely positioned to foster similar partnerships. She urges communities considering hosting data centers to challenge developers to invest in local energy affordability solutions, leveraging their power as economic developers, grid owners, and rate-making regulators to ensure a more equitable energy future.