The first data from 2026 seem to indicate that last year was an oddity.
Last year, the first few months of data from the US grid suggested that fears of a data-center-driven surge in demand were becoming a reality. Demand had risen by about 3 percent, triggering a surge in coal, interrupting what had been a long downward trend. But over the course of the year, both trends slowed considerably.
If the second Trump term ends up being the catalyst for a green future, I think I might have to reconsider my belief that accelerationism doesn’t work.