America is on the cusp of an era of energy expansion and needs more sustainable energy to meet growing demand

By Lisa Jacobson and Heather Reams

America is on the cusp of an era of energy expansion.

According to the newly released 2025 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook from the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) and BloombergNEF, a broad portfolio of energy technologies—including those in energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy—are the key to meeting a growing electricity demand and building up America’s competitive edge. 

The signs of exponential demand growth are clear. In anticipation of growing Artificial Intelligence and data center demand, companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon signed 183 deals for clean power in 2024—nearly double the amount of power purchase agreements in the prior year. These announcements set a record of 28 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, up 26 percent from 2022. 

American-made clean energy is ready to meet this demand. Solar and energy storage hit another record in 2024, helping to push renewable sources to 24 percent of U.S. power generation. Specifically, the contribution of wind, solar, biomass, waste-to-energy, geothermal and hydro power rose at the fastest pace among all sources of power, increasing more than 10 percent year over year. 

Natural gas remained the largest electricity generation source in the U.S., representing close to 43 percent of total output in 2024. Demand for U.S. natural gas across all sources rose 1.3 percent to reach another record of 99.7 billion cubic feet per day. Together, natural gas and renewable energy provided the supermajority of U.S. electricity generation (67 percent). 

As the U.S. deploys new sources of homegrown generation, we are also implementing solutions to use the energy we produce more efficiently. Energy productivity grew 2 percent in 2024, amounting to an increase of 29 percent over the past 10 years. Energy efficiency solutions are key to reducing strain on the electric grid and helping consumers and businesses save money on their energy bills. 

Energy efficiency, natural gas and renewable energy solutions are keeping the lights on in millions of homes and businesses across the U.S., especially as the country faces increased power demand and a higher number of extreme weather events. And, just as importantly, these private sector investments are boosting economic growth in all 50 states by creating new jobs and lowering energy costs for families. 

Sharpening our competitive edge in the age of energy expansion requires the continued support of federal policymakers. Businesses and private investors need market predictability and rely on long-term policy certainty to make investment decisions.

Existing tax credits benefit a broad range of energy solutions, including biomass, carbon capture and storage, combined heat and power, clean fuels, energy efficiency, fuel cells, hydrogen, hydro power, natural gas, nuclear, solar, waste-to-energy, and wind power technologies, among others. Continued federal support of these existing tax credits is key to unleashing private sector capital. 

At the same time, energy projects must get off the ground more quickly in order to meet the surging growth in demand. In 2024 alone, 317 GW of new capacity applied to interconnect in the seven U.S. independent system operators, representing nearly a third of the current installed U.S. power system. It can take years for these projects to connect to the grid and bring power online. Reforms to federal permitting and siting regulations could help alleviate these difficulties and accelerate the pace of the U.S. energy expansion. 

As shown in the 2025 Sustainable Energy in America Factbook, a broad portfolio of clean energy technologies has driven U.S. power generation to reach its highest volume in two decades. With the backing of federal policy support, these sectors are poised to meet surging energy demand and launch the U.S. into a new era of energy expansion.

Now is the time to deploy more homegrown clean energy projects and work together to realize the full potential of American energy dominance. 

Lisa Jacobson is President of the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE, www.bcse.org). Heather Reams is President of Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES, www.cresenergy.com). 

Q3 2025