EP 118 — Powering AI and the Energy Transition: Why Permitting Reform Matters

Electricity demand is surging, driven by data centers and the broader shift toward electrification. The United States faces a critical question: can the country build the energy infrastructure it needs fast enough to support economic growth while advancing the clean energy transition?

As Congress debates the scope and timing for permitting reforms, we are sharing a special joint episode of CleanLaw and Climate Rising recorded earlier this summer. EELP Founding Director and Harvard Law School Professor Jody Freeman and Harvard Business School Professor Mike Toffel sit down with Nat Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, to discuss why building new energy infrastructure has become so difficult, what permitting reforms could accelerate clean energy deployment and transmission, how AI is reshaping this debate, and why solving these challenges may be essential to both climate progress and American competitiveness.