There is no AI without energy, and in today's landscape, AI's energy for hunger demands an all-of-the-above strategy.

The challenge: As the technology grows, AI's appetite for energy — relative to what the grid has available — will demand every tool available.

• Even if AI growth projections overshoot, energy demand will increase at a scale the power sector hasn't seen in a generation.

Some examples:

• According to Google, a median prompt to its Gemini model consumes 0.24 watt-hours — about the same as running a laptop for 17 seconds or a microwave for one second.
• In June, Sam Altman wrote that the average ChatGPT query consumes about 0.34 watt-hours of electricity, roughly what a high-efficiency light bulb uses in a couple of minutes.

What you're missing: Figures like these sharpen public understanding of AI's energy requirements.

• They also expose Jevons paradox — the dynamic in which gains in efficiency lower costs, only to spark even greater demand.

The outlook: Scaling fast enough to meet AI's voracious appetite, while keeping energy reliable and affordable for ratepayers, is a top priority.

• Continuing to improve emissions intensity throughout the energy system is also key.

The solution: Market participants and governments are focused on how best to balance these considerations at a pace that will support America's competitive advantages.

Debates over which energy source should power AI miss the point.

• The U.S. will need new chip factories, new data centers and vast new sources of energy, along with the infrastructure to deliver where it's needed.

Get up to date: Recent reforms outlined in Winning the Race: America's AI Action Plan aim to accelerate permitting and expedite infrastructure deployment.

• Bridging policy ambition with practical delivery requires companies capable of moving energy at scale, making infrastructure essential to the task.

How it's done: Enbridge, a multinational pipeline and energy company, sits at the center of North America's energy system, with a proven record of delivering energy where it matters most.

• Its assets are strategically linked to major population hubs and positioned near the fast-growing data center clusters that will anchor the digital economy.

Here's what else: Being able to move the energy is only one part of what's needed.

• A diverse portfolio of energy businesses and capabilities — from natural gas transmission and storage, to gas utilities and renewable power operations — is crucial to deliver a mix of energy sources that support clean energy ambitions while also ensuring continuous baseload power.

The plan: Enbridge's approach to the energy evolution must include…

• Lowering the emissions intensity of operations.

• Helping customers transition from higher-emitting fuels to lower-carbon options.
• Building more efficient and lower-carbon infrastructure.

Worth a mention: The below mix of energy sources and innovation will help to match immediate energy needs with long-term growth projections.

• Earlier this year, Enbridge announced that it is developing and will be operating a 600-megawatt solar project near San Antonio, providing clean and renewable energy for a customer.
• On the Gulf Coast, advanced optimization projects — including a $50-million expansion of the Southeast Supply Header pipeline across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama — are meeting the growing power needs of a major electric utility serving data centers.
• The expansion of the Texas Eastern Transmission system to support the Homer City Redevelopment generating facility in Pennsylvania, which, when fully operational, will be the largest natural gas-fired power plant in the U.S. dedicated entirely to data centers and AI.

Okay, but: Even with a diverse mix of energy sources — and robust domestic energy supply — planning for AI's resource use remains challenging.

• "As AI expands, innovation will rise or fall on the availability and deliverability of dependable and flexible energy systems," says Pete Sheffield, Vice President of External Affairs and Chief Sustainability Officer for Enbridge.

The takeaway: For energy providers, data-driven planning and experience will be essential.

• Data centers will need partners that can deliver capacity, reliability and sustainability alike — baseload natural gas, renewables, storage and infrastructure built to meet real demand and support round-the-clock operations.
• "Meeting this moment will require unprecedented coordination between policymakers, hyperscalers and energy providers," says Sheffield.

Dive deeper into meeting data center demand.