Lara Pierpoint

A version of this story was published in the AI-Energy Nexus newsletter on August 26, 2026. Subscribe to get pieces like this — plus expert analysis, original reporting, and curated resources — in your inbox every Wednesday. The U.S.’ resurgent passion for building new gas infrastructure is quickly putting the U.S. at risk of reversing any emissions cuts we’ve achieved so far — and it’s mostly down to data centers. Consider the news that came out just last week.

To build the physical infrastructure of the clean energy transition — from wind turbines and grid stabilization to massive new AI data centers — the world needs more copper between now and 2050 than humanity has produced in its entire history. But new copper mines take anywhere from 10 to 16 years to permit and build, meaning we’re not on track to meet our rapidly growing demand.

Listen to the episode on: For decades, the promise of new nuclear power in the West has been stifled not by the technology itself, but by the “construction problem.” Massive, multi-billion dollar mega-projects plagued by schedule creep and labor shortages have made nuclear a financial non-starter for commercial project finance. To build nuclear at scale, we need a paradigm shift.