By Peter Adams
Publication Date: 2026-05-06 12:28:00
As electricity demand in the United States begins to rise rapidly and is expected to continue to rise, primarily due to the power needs of data centers that process artificial intelligence, people are looking for almost every possible solution.
And people warn that projected demand may not materialize to its full potential, which could eliminate the need for massive investments in power plants and raise Americans’ electricity rates even further.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is among those who have pushed a seemingly attractive idea: “We have 35 gigawatts of backup generators sitting there,” he told natural gas industry leaders in December 2025. He was referring to diesel-powered engines in hospitals, office complexes, corporate campuses and even data centers to provide power in the event of a grid failure.
This amount of energy would be a significant step towards meeting the country’s expected energy needs without the need for new long-term…