U.S. Energy Shift Remains Strong in Future

Reports Show Clean Energy Will Rise By 2050

New energy outlooks from the EIA and BloombergNEF show that clean energy will continue to rise in the U.S. even if environmental policies are weakened. Both reports expect the country’s energy demand to shift more towards electricity, especially due to data centre growth and artificial intelligence.

The EIA projects a 50% increase in total electricity use by 2050. Commercial electricity sales could rise by 20% by 2035, with data centres using more than 8% of the country’s electricity. Meanwhile, fossil fuel consumption is expected to decline, though the rate depends on policy enforcement.

If current emission standards remain, coal usage could fall by 98% and gasoline by 44% by 2050. Even without these rules, coal use would drop 70% and gasoline use by 17%. Natural gas is also projected to decline, with usage dropping to around 27 quadrillion BTUs by 2050.

Electricity prices could reach more than 20 cents per kilowatt-hour by 2050, rising from 13 cents in 2024. This increase is partly due to rising demand and higher infrastructure costs.

Renewables are set to lead the energy market. EIA forecasts that renewable power will triple by 2050, becoming the primary electricity source in the early 2030s. Solar and wind will see major expansions, although BNEF has lowered its projections slightly due to possible rollbacks in green subsidies and regulations.

“It’s pretty clear that electricity demand is increasing and more end use demands are being met with electricity. Much of that was incentivized with the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Joseph DeCarolis, EIA administrator.

Despite debates over policy, the outlook remains positive for clean energy, showing the shift is well underway and unlikely to stop.