By: Samuel Guerra
Editor’s Note: This article is a continuation of last week’s opinion issue. The previous article cited recent data to argue that nuclear energy is one of the cleanest, safest and most reliable sources of energy available today.
Since the Industrial Revolution, energy has been synonymous with power. Without sufficient energy, a country’s economy cannot develop. Rising global energy consumption makes it imperative to find sources that moderate the amount of pollution.
The emergence of generative AI has dramatically increased the demands on our nation’s power grid. Data centers supporting these systems consume enormous amounts of electricity. This generated power runs computing operations 24/7 for data processing and model training, stores vast quantities of data and cools down the overheated systems.
The scale of this consumption may be surprising. On Sept. 24, Fortune reported that according to current projections, OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT—with its “next wave of AI data centers,” will consume as much electricity as New York City and San Diego combined.
While those figures are projections, the present reality is already striking. Today, data centers account for 33% of all electricity used in Oregon and 37% in Virginia, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
This rapid surge in energy consumption comes at a cost. Residents in multiple states report significantly higher electricity bills, despite unchanged or even reduced personal usage. A recent analysis of DC Byte’s latest data, published last month, found that in areas near major data center activity, monthly electricity costs have risen by as much as 267% compared to five years ago.
According to an independent market monitor for PJM Interconnection—the world’s largest energy market, covering 13 U.S. states from Illinois to Maryland.—data centers were responsible for an estimated $9.3 billion in additional costs passed on to ratepayers.
Residents in many northeastern states are increasingly vocal about their frustration.
“I noticed that compared to the same time last year, my bill has gone up, but also, I noticed my usage went down,” said Cassandra Laínez, a New Jersey resident, in a More Perfect Union interview. “To me, honestly, it felt almost like a slap in the face to use less energy and then get charged more for it.”
Like Laínez, many people are subsidizing the soaring energy demands of AI data centers through inflated utility bills. Globally, data centers are projected to consume more than 4% of the world’s electricity by 2035, according to BloombergNEF. To put that in perspective: If data centers were a country, they would rank fourth in electricity consumption—behind only China, the United States and India.
This issue is already affecting residents in Tennessee. In Memphis, a data center opened last year by Elon Musk’s company xAI couldn’t secure enough grid electricity, so it now operates 33 methane-powered gas turbines to generate the power it needs. The magnitude of the energy demand—and resulting pollution—at the facility, called Colossus, is indeed colossal. According to the Southern Environmental Law Center, the site produces enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 homes.
Researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, analyzed air quality in South Memphis and found that peak nitrogen dioxide concentration levels have increased by 79% compared to pre–xAI data center levels in areas immediately surrounding the facility. The facility’s massive methane gas turbines are increasing smog in Memphis by 30% to 60%. Air pollution is a problem already affecting residents of Tennessee—and one that could happen to any community next.
As the data show, energy demand is skyrocketing due to AI’s voracious power consumption, and this trend shows no sign of slowing. One could argue for curbing this surge in demand—and I support such efforts. But if we are going to consume this much energy, we need to draw it from nuclear power, which is the second-safest energy source in use today as well as the cleanest and most reliable.
The increase in AI energy consumption isn’t limited to the United States. Other nations are also seeing rising demand, but their clean energy output is growing alongside it. For example, last year, China met 84% of its electricity demand growth with solar and wind power, according to the most recent report from Ember, a UK-based energy institution. That allowed China to cut fossil fuel use by 2%, even as power demand continued to rise.
This rapid expansion is also underway in nuclear energy. According to a report by the World Nuclear Association, as of September 2025, China has 33 nuclear reactors under construction, while the United States is currently building none. And projections by Nikkei Asia, a Japanese newspaper, show China is on track to surpass the United States in nuclear power generation capacity by 2030, becoming the world’s largest producer.
The United States still leads in total nuclear energy generation, but that output comes from reactors built decades ago. If other nations can invest in these energy sources, so can the U.S. The choice is clear: embrace clean, safe and reliable alternatives or continuing to use polluting, unsafe and unreliable energy that is often backed by oil companies. It’s a matter of where the nation sets its priorities.
