October 19, 2025
NOTUS Perspectives: AI Requires Massive Allocations of Energy. Will Other Sectors Suffer?
This article was originally published on NOTUS.
AI will force hard choices about how energy is allocated in America. Energy demand for developing advanced AI models is skyrocketing. One leading AI company expects to need 5 gigawatts of firm, reliable power (roughly equivalent to the output of five nuclear reactors) to train a single advanced model in 2028, with up to 25 gigawatts required nationwide for advanced AI training.
On the current trajectory, the government may need to prioritize energy for AI over other uses to ensure the United States remains the global leader in advanced AI.
While the Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to speed development — streamlining permitting and allowing use of federal lands — those measures alone will not meet the scale of energy demand. On the current trajectory, the government may need to prioritize energy for AI over other uses to ensure the United States remains the global leader in advanced AI. Tools like the Defense Production Act’s priorities and allocations authorities, or the Department of Energy’s power to override state transmission decisions, make such prioritization possible.
Read the full article on NOTUS.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | American AI Exports Need a Sovereignty SolutionEarlier this month, the Department of Commerce opened applications for the American AI Exports Program, an ambitious effort to deploy American AI technology, tools, and infras...
By Ruby Scanlon & Vivek Chilukuri
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
How the Pentagon Can Manage the Risks of AI WarfareTo use AI effectively, militaries will need to not only harness the promise of AI but also grapple with its limitations and risks....
By Paul Scharre
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Dutch Export Controls Don’t Go Far Enough on ChinaControlling the machines that make chips matters more than controlling any specific chip....
By Michelle Nie
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
China’s AI Is Spreading Fast. Here’s How to Stop the Security RisksThe first problem is not about China, but about AI as a technology: It is incredibly difficult to audit the global supply chain for AI software....
By Ryan Fedasiuk
