The race for resources is the challenge of our time. In the new cold war with China, the battlegrounds expand from cyberwar and small islands to economics and energy. At stake are lower energy costs, job opportunities and national security. Meeting this moment will require building more of the infrastructure that powers the modern economy — particularly energy.
The energy needed to power this future should not come at the expense of communities or taxpayers, and Utah is focused on getting that balance right.
The stakes are clear. Artificial intelligence requires enormous computing power, and that computing power requires enormous amounts of energy. Industry leaders and geopolitical experts suggest a nation’s AI capabilities are only as strong as its energy supply. While the U.S. economy remains the biggest and strongest in the world, partisan politics are slowing down free-market energy development. The result: higher energy prices, while China vastly outstrips us in energy supply, giving them an opening to leapfrog us in the AI race.
While the money is there, American bureaucracy remains the biggest obstacle to building new energy supply. Environmental laws passed over 50 years ago to protect our planet — like the National Environmental Policy Act and the Clean Water Act — have been abused and weaponized by extremists who oppose all development. Some don’t want anything built near their homes. Others oppose U.S. economic growth entirely, for wildly misguided reasons.
President Donald Trump is laying the groundwork for an American comeback. His administration is investing heavily in critical minerals needed for batteries and transmission, and his focus on energy dominance demonstrates his understanding of the critical importance of this issue. While his apprehension about some forms of clean energy is well known, the president understands that regulation is holding back needed energy production.
This is exactly where Utah is stepping in to get it right. As demand for energy increases, Utah leaders are working to strike the right balance — encouraging innovation and economic growth while ensuring transparency and responsible stewardship of resources.
Gov. Spencer Cox’s Operation Gigawatt initiative set the tone. The governor’s energy vision emphasizes lowering costs while expanding the reliable energy supply needed to compete in the AI economy. That approach has guided the state’s passage of HB85 and HCR05, reducing red tape and delays for Utah’s buildout.
In the 2026 legislative session, the Legislature took the next step by focusing on community impact and transparency by passing HB76, which requires large data centers to report water use.
The bill does not restrict development; it adds transparency, allowing Utah to continue lowering costs and building critical infrastructure while responsibly managing natural resources.
The case for permitting reform is bipartisan: new infrastructure is cleaner, more efficient, and will make energy cheaper and more abundant for all Utahns.
Part of Utah’s success, and key to continuing it, is keeping the federal bureaucracy at bay. Utah’s congressional delegation, including the efforts of Sen. John Curtis, has been a driving force for a conservative approach to permitting reform and a strong energy supply. Working at the federal level, Curtis has seen how complicated permitting processes have been abused by bad actors to apply ideological roadblocks to all kinds of energy. In the Senate — where 60 votes are needed to pass permitting reform legislation — Curtis has worked diligently to bring Democrats on board.
This reflects the same bipartisan approach Utah has used to pass its energy reforms. The case for permitting reform is bipartisan: New infrastructure is cleaner and more efficient and will make energy cheaper and more abundant for all Utahns, helping us lead out to win the AI race.
Utah has long been known for a practical approach to policymaking. Rather than focusing on headlines, leaders across the state have worked to address complex challenges like energy, development, infrastructure and permitting reform in a thoughtful and deliberate way. That approach will translate to reduced costs; a richer Utah; and a stronger, safer United States.