We Start at the End
Today’s exit music is the moody 1976 classic “Year of the Cat”: Al Lewis’ spellbinder that AI would never have come up with - a sung tale of a visitor in a strange, upside-down land with a certain amount of menace. Absolutely unrelated to covering American energy in the Trump era.
“More clean energy. More affordable energy. That dual mandate is the real challenge.”
In this conversation I sat down with to Cat Clifford, senior reporter at Cipher News, about what happens when data centre demand collides with outdated policy, broken infrastructure, and an AI arms race nobody can afford to lose.
We go deep into Cat’s reporting on:
AI’s Ballooning Electricity Appetite
– Why AI is driving the fastest-growing spike in electricity demand in a generation
– The paradox of AI as a climate solution—if it’s powered cleanly
– The unknowables: how big, how fast, and how chaotic?
The Nuclear-Tech Bromance
– Why big tech is cozying up to small modular reactors (SMRs)
– Who’s bankrolling the nuclear revival—and who might get burned
– The role of always-on baseload in the age of AI factories
Geothermal’s Promised Land
– Advanced geothermal’s bipartisan political appeal
– Why it’s ideal for U.S. energy dominance—but underfunded
– Will Congress rewrite the tax credit rules in time to matter?
Texas, Tariffs, and Transmission
– What just happened in the Texas Legislature—and why it matters beyond Texas
– How tariffs whiplashed investor confidence in solar and AI supply chains
– Why permitting reform—and grid expansion—are stuck
Politics, 2026, and the Price of Power
– What voters will care about: the cost of energy
– Who pays to keep the lights on in the AI age?
– What the fight over IRA tax credits tells us about the Senate’s climate future
Quote of the Episode:
“If the U.S. is serious about the AI race, solar and storage are the only near-term way to meet demand. Everyone’s going to have to compromise.”
Further Reading
All the Outros
Bookshop
Support the authors we have on and whose books we discuss and use our Bookshop.org link to buy. Because the AI companies using that IP for training data certainly won’t. And you’ll be supporting local booksellers and a smidge for our show.
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