President Trump’s First 30 Days: Keeping Up with Rapid Energy Policy Shifts

In the first few weeks of the second Trump administration, we’ve seen a flurry of dramatic changes across sectors that have left many with more questions than answers. Energy policy has been no exception. Between major shifts in the focus of federal funds away from renewables to rapidly increasing demand from data center development, the energy landscape is looking very different than it did just a few months ago. We’ll cover the policy changes we’re keeping a close eye on and look at what they might mean for the energy sector in the immediate future.

Executive Orders Set the Tone

Since 2022, we have seen three years of impactful and wide-reaching energy investment and activity, spurred by the policy tent poles of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). The IRA and its related tax credits that have been finalized would require a lengthy process to be repealed or modified, though the Trump administration has already attempted to circumnavigate that via executive order. For now, it appears that most IRA tax credits are still available, but it is likely that this is the first of many attempts by this administration to diminish their effects.

The fallout from the executive order targeting the IRA has already been felt in other sectors, however. The Federal Highway Administration ordered states to completely halt their work on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, leaving participating states unsure how to proceed. Like many areas of the government, states are now in a holding pattern waiting for additional guidance on whether the $5 billion awarded in grants for this program will be available to them. Some states have paused construction completely, while others are proceeding with construction that was already underway. Additional guidance is not anticipated to be available until the spring.  

In an ironic twist of the GOP’s focus on states’ rights, individual states are most likely to emerge as the key driver of renewable energy and environmental policy in the coming months. Cities are also leading this charge – as regulations such as Local Law 97 and BERDO in Boston demonstrate.  

States Will Lead on Clean Energy & Climate Policy

While the immediate need in California is rebuilding after the devastating fires in Los Angeles, that state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, has indicated he plans to continue to make California a leader on renewable energy and climate change mitigation matters, despite federal rollbacks, including calling a special state legislative session to stand in opposition to future policies from the president. Other state leaders, such as Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, have decided to go a different route and are employing a more measured approach - waiting to see the policies that develop in Washington before taking action.  

Healey, it should be noted, also let her pen do the talking on this front. In November 2024, she signed the state climate bill into law, which is designed to “accelerate clean energy development, improve energy affordability, create an equitable infrastructure siting process, allow for multistate clean energy procurements, promote non-gas heating, expand access to electric vehicles and create jobs and support workers throughout the energy transition.”

AI & Data Center Demands May Outweigh Politics

Two of the main drivers of our country’s energy future may come from outside politics. The proliferation of AI data centers and the increased power demands that come with them, could be the deciding factor in the energy technologies that are deployed in the coming months and years. According to McKinsey, by the year 2030, data centers’ power demands are expected to reach 606 terawatt-hours (TWh) - nearly 12% of the total power demand in the country and triple what data centers consumed in 2023.  

Strategies such as co-locating data centers with dedicated clean, reliable, resilient energy infrastructure such as solar, grid-scale batteries and microgrids, or employing district energy to capture waste heat from data centers and then use it to heat buildings, can help mitigate these power demands, reduce strain on the grid, boost energy resliency and lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These strategies are also not pipe dreams – they are already being put to use in real-world applications and are ripe for scaling and widespread adoption.  

Don’t count out geothermal energy, either. It’s a 10,000-year-old technology, but as Former President Biden’s recent AI Executive Order shows, geothermal may also be a key part of our energy future and a factor in the development of AI and the next-gen tech it brings with it. What’s more, an IEA report from December 2024 notes that geothermal could meet 15% of global electricity demand growth between now and 2050.

A Holistic, Collaborative Approach  

However, it’s not just one technology that will meet increased energy demands and bolster energy resiliency and independence. Instead, we must take a holistic, collaborative approach to the energy transition and lowering carbon emissions.

Progress continues to be made on this front, but recent developments such as NASA confirming 2024 was the hottest year on record, and the devastating wildfires in California, are urgent and tragic reminders of how climate change can increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters.

Only by working together, and by using all the tools at our disposal – whether they be first-of-a-kind (FOAK) technologies, or tried and true solutions such as geothermal and district energy – the need is there, it’s real, and it must be addressed now through action that is at once decisive and deliberate.

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