The Mountain West’s Energy Future: Experts Say Clean Power is the Fastest Path Forward
The global race to power artificial intelligence and data-driven innovation is colliding with an energy contradiction: our power grids were not built for this pace of demand. Across the Mountain West, hyperscalers are building data centers faster than new generation and transmission can keep up, pushing the energy sector, policymakers, and developers to rethink how we deliver power.
According to the International Energy Agency, in just 2024, global investment in data centers has nearly doubled since 2022, amounting to half a trillion dollars in 2024. With the continued investment in AI datacenters under the Trump administration, US energy demand is expected to double by 2030. In states like Utah, Colorado, and Arizona, major new facility initiatives are being proposed, each capable of consuming gigawatts of continuous power combined.
These loads don’t just stress the grid; they raise the stakes for how clean energy is deployed. Renewables remain the cheapest and fastest deployable form of new electricity in most regions and when paired with storage, are now cost-competitive with fossil fuel generation.
At the upcoming Mountain West Renewables Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah, Joey Marquart, Senior Vice President at Silverline — the leading clean energy public relations firm — will moderate a panel on October 28 at 1:35pm MT focused on “Managing Load Growth Amidst the Expansion of Data Centers with leaders from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Electric Power Engineers, CIM Group, FlexGen, and Quality Technology Services (QTS).
The panel will examine what data centers mean for the future of regional energy, what solutions can keep pace and how to navigate the complex challenges facing the Mountain West including:
What power sources are available in the Mountain West to power data centers, and meet demand growth?
What are the most immediate needs of the regional power grid to handle the load?
What role will clean energy technologies — from solar and wind to long-duration storage and even small modular reactors — play in balancing supply?
How can co-op and municipal utilities overcome unique planning challenges — such as integrating distributed energy resources, accelerate procurement, and partner effectively with developers — will shape outcomes across the region.
As Joey leads this discussion, one theme will be clear: managing data center growth is inseparable from accelerating clean energy build-out. The Mountain West has abundant solar, wind, and geothermal resources, enough to not just meet demand but to position the region as a global leader in powering the digital economy.
The question is no longer if we will deploy clean energy at scale, but how fast we can get it done. In the AI era, the stakes for speed, affordability, and sustainability have never been higher, especially amid accelerating climate change and increasingly severe weather events.
For those interested in how the Mountain West can lead in powering the AI era through rapid clean energy deployment, this session — and the full summit — is well worth checking out.
Silverline is a proud sponsor of the Infocast Mountain West Renewables Summit.
