Climate Advisers’ Matt Piotrowski: The U.S. needs a clean energy standard for AI data centers

Residents outside Memphis have seen the alternative. xAI has run dozens of gas turbines across the state line in Southaven, Mississippi, to power its Colossus 2 data center, drawing lawsuits and complaints over air quality. More are coming. Global Energy Monitor counts 189 GW of natural gas tied to data centers in development as of mid-2026, with about 17 GW already under construction. Gas appeals to AI companies because it can provide reliable, around-the-clock power, but turbine shortages and equipment backlogs could delay projects or cause them to be scrapped. This gives policymakers time to shape what will power most AI data centers in the coming years.

For now, clean energy is winning on the grid. This year, solar, batteries and wind make up more than 90% of planned U.S. capacity additions, according to the Energy Information Administration, with developers racing to qualify for federal tax credits before they phase out. Without policy, that may not last.

So far, when it comes to AI data centers, Washington and the states have focused mostly on costs. President Trump’s Ratepayer Protection Pledge is voluntary, and The Ratepayer Protection Act, which stalled in the Senate this fall and could return in the next Congress, would protect consumers from higher bills but says nothing about clean energy.

States have moved faster, with moratoriums and rules that make data centers pay for grid upgrades, but few tie data centers to clean power. Lawmakers at both levels should close that gap by pairing strong ratepayer protections with a phased clean energy standard for new data centers.

Other countries show how. Ireland requires new data centers connecting to the grid to meet 80% of their annual demand with new renewable energy built in Ireland. Singapore requiresapplicants for new data center capacity to power at least 50% of proposed capacity with green energy. Japan offers subsidies up to 50% of investment costs to data center operators that run entirely on decarbonized electricity. China, whose data center capacity is forecast to nearly double by the end of the decade, has set a requirement of 80% green power at its newly built main data center hubs. These countries compete with the U.S. for AI investment, and they are already ahead.

A clean energy standard would also serve AI companies. Wind and solar are competitively priced, can come online quickly, and offer protection against energy price swings. Even a Bank of America Securities analyst who sees gas as the fastest way to secure power describes solar as “the lowest-cost marginal energy.” Clean power isn’t free, but neither is the alternative.BloombergNEF estimates that powering a 500-megawatt data center with on-site gas can cost upwards of $140 per megawatt-hour, substantially more than purchasing electricity at industrial grid rates. A phased standard that lets developers buy clean power from the grid, rather than build it all on site, would keep costs down without slowing construction. The industry is already a willing buyer. Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft signed about 80% of corporate renewable power contracts in 2025, making them natural allies for a standard that rewards the investments many have already made.

Households and communities would benefit too. Paired with cost protections, a clean energy standard would keep data center costs off electricity bills at a time when the EIA expects residential electricity prices to rise nearly 5% this year. And it would mean cleaner air for neighborhoods like those outside Memphis.

Critics warn that a clean energy standard could push investment abroad, to less regulated markets. That risk is smaller than it looks. The U.S.’s top competitor, China, already requires clean power for new data centers in its national computing hubs, and other jurisdictions, such as India’s Gujarat state, have their own clean power conditions. A phased-in standard, with compliance timelines and flexibility in how developers secure their supply, would give companies time to adapt. Ireland’s six-year compliance period offers one example of how such a transition can be structured.

The U.S. leads the global AI race, and AI infrastructure development will remain a major source of electricity demand. This means that U.S. clean energy policy has to keep pace. Congress and state governments should phase in clean energy requirements for new large data centers, prioritize additional clean generation, account for grid reliability, and enforce safeguards that keep infrastructure costs from shifting to consumers. The country cannot afford to treat AI development and energy planning as separate challenges. A clean energy standard for new data centers would help the U.S. pursue technological leadership while building an affordable and sustainable electricity system. Lawmakers have written half a policy. It’s time to finish it.

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