This edition of Watt’s Happening concerns the Ninth Annual Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, which took place in Washington, D.C., on June 17 and 18, 2025. It was centered around Collaboration, Competition, and Security, and reflected the recent wave of elections that overturned many incumbent politicians and parties all around the globe and opened the door to a new generation of leaders.
Note: The following summaries are written in accordance with Chatham House Rules.
Weekly Highlights:
Energy and the AI Revolution
It is without a doubt that the next few years will focus on energy security, economic competitiveness, and global prosperity, as energy is not simply the pathway to national development. It, alongside “dialogue and diplomacy,” as one speaker said, “is a cornerstone of peace, stability, and ensuring prosperity.” An important part of this commitment is inexorably tied to the artificial intelligence revolution that is sweeping the globe, and it is very energy-hungry. It is also clear that our energy infrastructure, made for a different time and demand, can no longer cope with the demands of a changing world. Something new must be created; that much is certain. But how are we going to pay for it?
Overcoming Bottlenecks: Costs and Technology
As AI’s growth curve is exponential and the energy growth curve is linear, the question of how to overcome bottlenecks is incontrovertible. To give just one example, the scale of the energy demand in the United States will be anywhere from forty gigawatts to a hundred gigawatts. Others disagree and think we are dramatically undershooting these figures because as the cost of building AI programs falls as the technology gets more efficient, the demand for them will rise. This requires changes on the policy side in order to break down those bottlenecks, as the infrastructure is set up to manage linear systems, and to provide adequate credit to fund the development of these data centers, which is sorely lacking in many states today.
A New Paradigm Shift
Two important buzzwords in the energy space are “net zero” and “net growth,” but no one seems to be able to agree on what they mean. Indeed, the definition of both words seems to change from year to year, from person to person, and from organization to organization. Now, as we enter a new era of energy leadership, those terms are once again shifting. For example, we are seeing Saudi Arabia shifting to more renewables and President Trump putting nuclear energy at the center of his policy program. But even more than that, all of the candidates who were elected last year were elected on a platform of economic development. All of that requires electricity in terms of more capacity, especially in emerging and developing countries, but also greener and cleaner electricity. That requires nuclear power, which has proven itself to be safe and affordable.
Europe vs. America in an “America First” Era
While some would argue that “America First” means “America Alone,” the current status of the transatlantic partnership may not be that bleak. While there are some issues that have to be addressed between the two blocs, the United States and Western Europe have been allies since the end of World War II, and there is no likelihood of that changing. They share common values, including freedom and democracy, and can work together on infrastructure, defense, and energy. The key is to find those areas in which Europe and America have common interests and work together to resolve them, such as the fact that it is in both countries’ interests for the United States to sell LNG to Europe.
Nuclear Energy’s Path From Pariah to Global Energy Security
Nuclear energy is back! In the wake of the World Bank overturning its ban on financing nuclear energy projects in developing countries and President Trump’s four executive orders on nuclear power, it is clear that nuclear energy has taken center stage in the debate about green energy and energy security, particularly in emerging market countries. In the United States, the importance of accountability means that the work of the Department of Energy and other government agencies has to be linked with those executive orders, including the exportation of nuclear technology. In developing countries, the goal is to get ministries that don’t talk to each other to communicate with each other.
About the Author: Toni Mikec
Toni Mikec is the Managing Editor for Energy World, a publication of the Center for the National Interest. Before that, he worked as a political consultant for Your Voter Guide in Sacramento and as a Senior Editor at Eagle Financial Publications in Washington DC. He holds a B.A. in International Relations (summa cum laude) from the University of California, Davis and a M.A. in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Image: Shutterstock/Who is Danny
