State Power Battles, Clean Energy Rollbacks Shape U.S. Energy Landscape

A growing backlash against power-hungry data centers and a rollback of state-level clean energy commitments are reshaping the U.S. energy demand and policy landscape, according to recent reports from OilPrice.com. These trends have significant implications for electricity markets and regulatory pressures facing oil and gas producers, including those in the Bakken.

More than a dozen states are considering legislation to temporarily halt the construction of new data centers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Those states include Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. This pushback is driven by consumer concerns over rising utility bills and strain on power grids.

Data centers are expected to be a major consumer of U.S. power. In the United States, the power demand of major data centers rose by around 11.3 GW in 2025, to 61.8 GW, OilPrice.com reported, citing a 451 Research report. Demand is projected to reach 108 GW in 2028 and 134.4 GW in 2030. A recent Gallup poll showed that 70 percent of Americans oppose the construction of data centers in their communities.

Concurrently, several states are walking back earlier clean energy commitments. New York was the first state to walk back its binding climate target in May of this year, moving its goal for a 40 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2030 to 2040. Governor Kathy Hochul cited high energy costs, though OilPrice.com notes the move also ended a lawsuit her administration had just lost.

This retreat is occurring even as solar power is now "far and away the cheapest form of energy in human history," according to the OilPrice.com analysis. The political and regulatory landscape has become "incredibly complex" due to actions by the Trump administration, the judicial system, and state politicians.

In a separate energy sector development, Earth-based sources of Helium-3 remain far more economical than lunar mining, according to an industry analysis. The graphic, created in partnership with Pulsar Helium, shows tritium decay and terrestrial helium wells as currently accessible sources, while lunar regolith mining faces massive cost and logistical hurdles. For energy investors, this underscores the continued dominance of terrestrial resource extraction technologies.

For Bakken operators, these converging trends highlight a national energy system under stress from soaring demand and conflicting policy signals. The data center boom represents a major new source of base load power demand, potentially supporting natural gas markets, while the retreat from renewable mandates may alter the competitive landscape for associated gas and future carbon regulation.