America's answer to hotter summers has overwhelmingly been more air conditioning, and engineers are now looking for ways to keep people cool without driving up electricity demand.

Why it matters: The need for cooling is surging. The issue isn't just how to generate more electricity — it's how to use less of it and ease demand when grids are most strained.

Between the lines: A July study finds that keeping buildings cool without relying solely on AC will be critical for adapting to climate change.

• AC is already nearly ubiquitous in the U.S., but that doesn't mean its electricity consumption has peaked.

"The market is saturated, but the use of air conditioning or the energy consumption for air conditioning will increase because of the overheating," Mat Santamouris, a University of New South Wales professor and the study's lead author, tells Axios.

• Higher temperatures mean Americans will run AC more, while cooling is becoming increasingly necessary in northern parts of the country that historically needed less of it.

Threat level: More AC means more electricity demand at the very moments the grid is under the most pressure.

• AC can account for roughly half of total peak electricity demand on the hottest days in Texas, according to an International Energy Agency analysis.
• Ankit Kalanki, lead cooling expert at clean-energy nonprofit RMI, tells Axios that "saving 1 kilowatt-hour of energy at midnight is not the same as reducing 1 kilowatt of peak demand at 6 p.m. when everyone is coming back from the office and turning on the air conditioner."

The big picture: Meeting America's growing need for cooling doesn't have to mean supplying all of it with more electricity.

• "We really have to avoid the solar radiation [entering] the building," Santamouris says. Letting that heat in and then spending electricity to remove it, he adds, "is not so intelligent."

State of play: The options largely fall into three categories: Keep heat out, cool more efficiently and ease demand on the grid.

• That includes smart windows and shading to block heat, reflective roof coatings, built-in energy storage to ease peak demand, and automation and ventilation to cut down on AC use.
• In Colorado, RMI and Boulder County are testing passive daytime radiative cooling paint on roofs. Kalanki calls it "a more advanced version" of white paint: It reflects sunlight while also radiating heat into the sky.
• Blue Frontier's air conditioners use a liquid desiccant to remove moisture from the air and built-in energy storage to reduce power use during peak-demand hours.

Yes, but: The right mix of cooling technologies depends on climate, building type and location, Santamouris says.

• A 2024 study co-authored by Santamouris modeled heat-mitigation strategies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and found that combining cool materials and greenery could reduce peak ambient temperatures by up to 4.5°C.

The bottom line: None of these technologies eliminates the need for AC, which can save lives during extreme heat. The goal is to reduce how frequently and intensely it operates.

• "Efficiency is the cheapest resource that we have available," Kalanki says, because reducing demand can avoid the need for new generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure.

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Prominent figures in the Make America Healthy Again movement are telling President Trump that "data centers should not become the justification for burning more coal."

Why it matters: The appeal, in a joint letter, collides with Trump officials' support for coal to help power AI.

• It cites coal's public health and environmental toll due to soot pollution, mercury, and byproducts called "coal ash" that contain heavy metals.

The big picture: Friday afternoon's letter signals an escalation of MAHA engagement on data centers and what's powering them.

• It urges the administration to convene MAHA leaders, farmers, physicians and others to craft "health-first standards for AI infrastructure."
• It says there are better energy options, citing solar paired with energy storage, advanced geothermal, and improved energy efficiency.

Driving the news: The many signers of the letter include...

• Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt.
• Charles Eisenstein, who was a speechwriter and adviser on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2024 presidential campaign.
• Aimee Villella McBride, executive director of the Global Wellness Forum.
• David Murphy, founder and CEO of United We Eat.

In addition to President Trump, the joint letter is copied to Kennedy, Environmental Protection Agency head Lee Zeldin, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

State of play: The Trump administration is moving on multiple fronts to boost coal-fired power, often citing AI power demand among the reasons.

Full story

The bipartisan data center backlash is very much an energy story, because the infrastructure is the biggest source of U.S. power demand growth.

New developments include...

🐘 Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) delivered one of the starkest warnings yet from a Republican to the AI industry, saying data center companies "dug their own grave" and deserve the backlash they're facing after failing to win community support.

• Why it matters: Abbott is the latest governor to sharply change course on the AI data center boom he once enthusiastically courted, as local opposition becomes a potent political force. Full story

🛡️ But President Trump defended the expansion of data centers in an interview with his former fixer, Michael Cohen, that aired in full yesterday. Go deeper

🫏 Democratic presidential hopefuls are scrambling to seize on the growing public backlash against AI. But none will go as far as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and his recent call to halt the technology's development.

• State of play: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), both progressives, are the only possible 2028 candidates who've expressed support for a data center pause, to varying degrees. Full story

🥀 Overall, there is a growing disconnect between the business and politics of data centers.

• Why it matters: Investors may be whistling past the server racks. Full story

⚛️ Scoop: Fusion energy developer Shine Technologies is preparing to file for an IPO, with Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan as bookrunners. Go deeper

♨️ Scoop: Geothermal power XGS Energy plans to begin raising $300 million in private funding in September. Go deeper

💵 Scoop: Data center developer Crusoe is in IPO talks with at least four Wall Street banks. Go deeper

🛥️ Vessev, a New Zealand startup making electric hydrofoil boats, raised a $19 million Series A and is bringing its vessels to the U.S., Axios Pro was first to report. Go deeper

✈️ Astro Mechanica is finalizing an agreement to buy jet engines from United Airlines to convert into on-site power sources. Axios Pro had the exclusive. Go deeper

Want a steady diet of scoops and smart analysis? Talk to our sales team about Axios Pro Deals.

That's today's average U.S. retail price for diesel, a climb of over 16 cents over the last week alone and 37 cents over the last month, per AAA.

Why it matters: Higher diesel puts upward pressure on the costs of any number of goods and services, and a global crunch has U.S. prices for the fuel rising faster than gasoline.