America stands at a historic energy crossroads that is arguably as critical to our future global leadership as was the completion of the transcontinental railway or the interstate highway system. The decisions we make today about our energy future will determine whether we lead or follow in the global AI revolution and whether we maintain our economic edge over China.

To understand the magnitude of what’s coming, we need to look at where we’ve been. From 1920-2021, America’s energy consumption grew fourfold – electricity consumption alone grew 100-fold – as we transformed from a developing industrial nation to the world’s leading economic superpower.

This massive expansion fueled unprecedented prosperity for American families, farmers and businesses. It spurred incredible innovation, efficiency and conservation in everything from transportation and distribution, medical care, the digital revolution, manufacturing, farming, textiles, milling, construction, appliances, plastics and even personal leisure.

Read more in RealClearEnergy here.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of C3.