China is building the power grid of the future. Meanwhile, America lags, slowed by regulations and permitting delays. Without a modern power grid, the U.S. risks falling behind China in a race that will define the next century of technological and economic growth. 

Over the past decade, Beijing has aggressively expanded its energy capacity at a pace Washington has struggled to match. Over the last few years, China has added more than 11 times the generating capacity of the U.S. It has outpaced the U.S. in generating electricity for more than 14 consecutive years and is on track to add 60 percent additional capacity by 2040. 

This divergence is no accident. China treats energy as a strategic national industrial project, while the U.S. relies on an aging grid pieced together over decades. China invests hundreds of billions of dollars more into its energy systems, including more than 18,000 miles of ultrahigh voltage transmission lines. Over the same time frame, the United States hasn’t built a single mile of comparable systems. 

The contrast is stark. Chinese projects advance rapidly, while American projects await hearings, lawsuits, and delays. Today, approximately 12,000 energy projects in the U.S. remain stalled waiting for connection approvals. 

This energy gap persists at a critical inflection point. The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution will require access to abundant energy. AI depends on large amounts of power to operate and improve its models. Without significant changes to our grid, American AI risks falling behind global competitors who enjoy more reliable and scalable power supplies.

Maintaining our leadership in AI will rely on a power system capable of supporting data centers, advanced manufacturing, and defense applications simultaneously. The nation that secures this advantage will shape global digital standards, command strategic supply chains, and secure a decisive edge in national security. 

If China pulls ahead, the consequences will extend beyond economics. It would make the world more dependent on Chinese technologies, establish military dominance over the U.S. and our allies, and incorporate censorship and surveillance on the platforms Americans use in everyday life.

Bureaucratic and onerous permitting regulations should not enable China to dictate the future of the economy, national security, and free speech. 

To address our energy shortfalls and win the AI race, Congress needs to act and should focus on addressing four distinct energy areas:

• First, codify and fund the administration’s AI Action Plan. This would create a durable federal playbook that aligns America’s AI strategy with energy infrastructure. This allows American companies to scale AI research and deployment nationwide and ensures that American tech leadership survives changing administrations.
• Next, accelerate “all-of-the-above” energy generation. Expanding power production will require embracing gas, nuclear, renewables, and geothermal to deliver reliable power in large quantities. Reliability is the key metric. Our technologies need lots of energy to run. We cannot allow ideological fights to prevent adding power to the grid.
• Then, expand and modernize the grid. We must cut the red tape that keeps our power systems in the 20th century. Federal authority should be streamlined to ensure that transmission lines can be built as quickly and efficiently as possible.
• Finally, eliminate foreign dependence on critical supply chains in our power infrastructure. China is currently the world’s largest exporter of power transformers and other critical inputs. The U.S. should reshore turbine and transformer production. America cannot remain dependent on our adversaries for infrastructure that will power our digital and economic future.

In this AI race, China is moving with purpose, powered by an expanding energy grid. We can win, but only if we modernize our energy systems and act decisively.

Kent Conrad represented North Dakota in the Senate from 1986 to 2013 as a Democrat. Saxby Chambliss represented Georgia in the Senate from 2003 to 2015 as a Republican. Both serve as advisers to the American Edge Project.