AI data centers help drive a record US clean energy boom under Trump

US clean energy capacity is set to grow by a record 45 gigawatts this year, roughly equal to Turkey's average electricity demand, even as the Trump administration works to slow the renewable buildout, Ars Technica reported.

Analysts point to three forces behind the surge: Trump's war in Iran, which has pushed up global energy prices, developers rushing to start projects before tax credits expire, and surging power demand from AI data centers. The increase is roughly 25% above the record set in 2024.

“There was a campaign promise to go against renewables, but at the same time they're realizing that you can't do without it. I don't see a world where power demand is flattening out.”

— Izzet Bensusan, CEO, Captona

The clearest driver behind that shift is raw electricity demand. US power consumption is expected to grow 39% by 2035, according to consultancy ICF, driven mainly by energy-hungry data centers and, to a lesser extent, the electrification of appliances and transport. That marks a sharp break from more than a decade of roughly flat demand.

“Candidly, it's a good time to be a developer. Data centers need power, and they need it basically yesterday.”

— Ethan Zindler, Head of Country and Policy Research, BloombergNEF

Solar and wind are winning the race to meet that demand because they're fast to build, not because Washington favors them. New solar and wind sites have a lead time under two years, according to think tank RMI, versus at least three years for gas plants. Producers can break even selling solar power at $38 per megawatt-hour and wind at $37, versus at least $48 for gas, per Lazard, though those figures leave out the cost of storage batteries needed to smooth out intermittency.

• Record clean energy addition this year: 45 gigawatts, roughly 25% above the 2024 record
• Projected US power demand growth by 2035: 39%, per ICF, after more than a decade flat
• New solar capacity growth in 2026: nearly a third; wind: almost 50%
• Solar and wind lead time: under two years, versus at least three years for gas
• Break-even cost: $38/MWh solar, $37/MWh wind, versus at least $48/MWh for gas

The administration's own record on renewables is more hostile than the numbers suggest. It broke up the Esmeralda 7 project in Nevada, which would have been the largest single solar project in the US, and Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashed tax credits for solar and wind while the administration held up approvals for more than 150 onshore wind projects. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said the administration has delivered on its promise to unleash American energy while ending subsidies for costly and unreliable energy sources. Courts haven't been as cooperative, part of a pattern we've covered before: a federal judge in Oregon ordered the Pentagon to stop blocking onshore wind development, and courts have blocked all five of the administration's attempts to halt offshore wind construction on the East Coast.

The same bill that cut subsidies also set a deadline, requiring developers to start construction by July 4 to qualify for credits before 2030, which pushed builders to move faster rather than scaring them off. The data center demand curve isn't going away regardless of how that policy fight ends, and it's the reason renewable developers keep building through it.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.