AI’s Biggest Energy Impact Might Be in the Oil Patch, Not the Data Center

Join the Aspen Policy Academy mailing list to learn more about us and our fellows (you’ll receive one email a week).

{"action":"swipe","clientId":"ac5a79b3-027f-4735-ad6e-8ed9a01adc94","controls":["submits"],"property":"newsletter","recipients":"","receipts":"","rules":[],"subject":""}

{"type":"email","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Email Address","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"email_address","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"^[a-zA-Z0-9.]{2,}@[a-zA-Z0-9]{3,}\\.[A-Za-z]{2,}$","count":1}

Email Address

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"First Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["required"],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"first_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

First Name

{"type":"input","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[],"title":"Last Name","description":" ","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":"","identifier":"last_name","evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Last Name

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"I want to learn how to change policy"},{"label":"I am a journalist"}],"title":"Focus","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":["multiple"],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":944034652,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Focus

Description of field

{"type":"check","format":[{"label":"month"},{"label":"day"},{"label":"year"},{"label":"hour"},{"label":"minute"}],"filetypes":[],"options":[{"label":"Washington DC area"},{"label":"New York City area"},{"label":"San Francisco Bay area"},{"label":"Los Angeles area"},{"label":"I'm in another location"}],"title":"Select your location","description":"Description of field","placeholder":"","helper":false,"abilities":[],"beacons":[],"preset":[],"identifier":937374955,"evaluate":[],"minimum":0,"maximum":200,"expression":"(.|\\n){1,}?","count":1}

Select your location

Description of field

By submitting this form, I agree that the Aspen Institute can collect, process, and retain limited personal information for administrative purposes; and that the Institute can share this limited personal information with its trusted service providers for program administration purposes. I consent to receiving email communications from the Aspen Policy Academy. I understand I can withdraw my consent at any time by contacting DataPrivacyLegal@aspeninstitute.org.

I agree to the Aspen Institute’s Terms of Use Agreement and acknowledge that I have read and understand the Aspen Institute Privacy Policy which provides additional information about how the Institute processes personal information, as well as rights I may have regarding the personal information the Institute maintains about me.

Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox for our next weekly newsletter!

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"header","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

{"abilities":[],"action":"stack","className":"","columns":3,"controls":[],"exclude":[],"include":[{"custom.menu":"header-menu"}],"maximum":6,"property":"mobile","orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in"]}

AI’s Biggest Energy Impact Might Be in the Oil Patch, Not the Data Center

Article Published August 14, 2026

This article was originally published in The Wall Street Journal on August 13, 2026.

By Ed Ballard, featuring Holly Alpine, Environmental Policy Accelerator alum, and Will Alpine, Policy Primer alum

AI data centers guzzle as much electricity as entire cities. They have ignited demand for any energy source you can name. They’re straining the grid and making people fret about their utility bills. Yet all that gargantuan power consumption is a sideshow.

That’s the conclusion of a new paper that seeks to quantify how artificial intelligence will change the energy system. It says the most profound impact won’t come from how the technology is powered but what it’s used for. Its big prediction: AI is on course to extend the dominance of fossil fuels

Read the Full Article

{"abilities":[],"action":"swipe","className":"wide","columns":3,"controls":["arrows"],"exclude":[{"starter.postid":"29945"},{"default.postid":"26818"}],"filters":[],"include":[{"starter.termid":"111"},{"starter.termid":"234"},{"starter.termid":"231"},{"starter.termid":"235"}],"maximum":6,"meta":[],"property":"box","searching":"","sorts":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"sorting":[{"ordering.label":"date","evaluation.label":"\u2193","display":"Most Recent","label":"date \u2193 Most Recent"}],"orders":["date","title","menu_order","post_type","post__in","relevance"],"filtering":"","refiner":false,"total":109}

Aspen Policy Academy

Schools are rethinking whether every student needs a laptop

Apply Now: New AI Civic Action Accelerator

Is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) Still Fit for Purpose? An Integrative Review of Data Center Metrics for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Modern AI Infrastructure