WASHINGTON – Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, convened a hearing today to address the lack of reliable power available to meet America's soaring energy demands driven by rapid growth in data centers for artificial intelligence.

The hearing highlighted the mismatch between the country’s rising power demands and inadequate availability of dispatchable, reliable energy sources. A recent report from the Department of Energy warned that, without action, the U.S. could face a 100-fold increase in the risk of power outages by 2030. Over the next five years, 104 gigawatts of dependable baseload power are scheduled to retire, leaving intermittent energy projects  to fill the gap. 

“America’s electricity demand is surging. We’re entering a new era driven by data centers, AI computing, electric vehicles, and manufacturing returning home,” said Chairman Lee. “We cannot sustain a modern economy or maintain our national security with intermittent power sources alone. We must embrace realistic, reliable solutions such as natural gas, nuclear, and geothermal to maintain America’s energy independence.”

Jeff Tench, Executive Vice President of Vantage Data Centers, testified on the immediate implications for the rapidly expanding AI and data center industry. "Demand for the AI and cloud infrastructure Vantage provides is accelerating. Over the past decade, I have seen the scale and speed of hyperscale data center development grow dramatically,” said Jeff Tench. "The AI Era is here but we will not lead on AI if we cannot power it. We must ensure that developers have access to reliable, timely, and scalable grid power.”

Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman Corporation, emphasized the stakes for American manufacturing and global competitiveness. "American manufacturing dominance, prosperity, security, innovation and power are based predominantly on our continuing access to cheap, abundant, and reliable energy, primarily in the form of hydrocarbons,” said Peter Huntsman. "Long term taxpayer subsidy of intermittent and unprofitable electricity production creates market distortions across the entire manufacturing value chain and supplants reliable, clean and profitable sources of energy. If the threat of climate change is existential to humanity, the U.S. Congress should directly finance or incentivize the construction of emissions free nuclear energy facilities across the entire nation." 

On the subject of expanding and relying on intermittent energy sources, Mr. Huntsman said, “Where this has been implemented in Europe, it has failed. Prices are through the roof. We cannot afford it. We’re shutting down facilities and laying off people.”

Senator Justice asked what the impact on the country would be if we were to cease to use fossil fuels for energy. Mr. Huntsman replied that this would be “national suicide.”

Chairman Lee concluded the hearing reiterating the need for reliable power generation going forward for the United States to remain globally competitive.