Jeffrey Clark, APA President
America stands at a crossroads on energy policy. The nation can cling to politically-motivated outdated thinking that pits one energy source against another, or it can embrace a future where every state participates in the energy economy and every American benefits from the abundance that comes from using all of our resources and technologies. America must choose between clinging to the past and longing for its permanence in a technologically advancing world, or leaning boldly into the future to lead in tomorrow’s energy economy and to meet the demands we now face. The choice isn’t between old energy and new energy, between red states and blue states, or between coastal interests and rural communities. It’s about leveraging every resource America has to lead the world in the defining competition of our time.
The slogan is simple: All-American energy from ALL American states. It’s not just a catchy phrase. It’s a recognition that every state in this union has energy resources worth developing, every state can contribute to American energy independence, and every community deserves the opportunity to participate in the prosperity that energy development creates. From wind in the Great Plains to solar in the Southeast, from biofuels in Missouri to geothermal in Arkansas, from natural gas in Texas to nuclear in South Carolina, from hydropower in the Pacific Northwest to offshore wind on the Atlantic coast, America’s energy diversity is our strength, not our weakness.
An “all of the above” approach to power generation isn’t just good policy. It’s the only strategy that makes economic sense for American consumers and the only path that positions the United States to win the AI race. And make no mistake: if we lose that race to China, we will have lost the future itself.
Artificial intelligence requires massive amounts of electricity. Data centers powering AI systems are already transforming the electricity landscape, and their appetite for power will only grow. The nation that can deliver abundant, affordable electricity will be the nation that dominates AI development. The nation that can’t will watch its future slip away.
We cannot afford to wait. The timelines for building traditional power plants stretch too long when demand is accelerating right now. We need to build the resources we can deploy today while also investing in the resources that will power tomorrow. That means nuclear reactors providing baseload power for decades. That means natural gas plants that can ramp up and down to balance the grid. That means wind and solar that can be built quickly and cheaply to meet surging demand. That means energy storage systems that make intermittent resources reliable. We need more of everything, working together, everywhere, all at once.
The economics are straightforward. Wind and solar are now the cheapest forms of new electricity generation available. Nuclear provides emissions-free baseload power with unmatched reliability. Natural gas offers flexibility and affordability. Energy storage is plummeting in cost while improving in performance. When these resources work together rather than compete for political favor, they create the kind of power system that can support the most advanced economy on Earth while keeping costs manageable for families and businesses. This isn’t theoretical. It’s happening right now in states that have embraced energy diversity instead of energy tribalism.
But this is about more than winning the AI competition, as critical as that is. This is about economic development and opportunity in every corner of America. For too long, energy policy has created winners and losers based on geography and political influence. States with favored resources prospered while states with different resources watched opportunity flow elsewhere. That’s not just bad policy. It’s a betrayal of the American promise that every community can chart its own path to prosperity.
When we commit to developing All-American energy from ALL American states, we’re saying that rural Oklahoma has as much right to benefit from oil and solar development as coastal Virginia has to develop offshore wind. We’re saying that Texas can participate through natural gas, wind, and solar just as Georgia participates through solar and nuclear. Washington can lead in hydropower, Iowa in biofuels, California in geothermal. Every state can participate in the multifaceted energy economy and can help contribute to American energy independence. Every state’s resources matter and every state’s communities deserve the economic benefits that energy development delivers.
For rural America, this commitment is particularly vital. Farm country has watched manufacturing plants close, family operations consolidate, and young people move away in search of better opportunities. Energy development offers these communities something they haven’t seen in decades: major capital investment coming to them rather than passing them by. When a wind farm or solar project comes to a rural county, it becomes one of the largest taxpayers in that county, often the largest. That tax revenue flows directly to school districts struggling to keep teachers, hospitals fighting to keep their doors open, and county governments stretched thin trying to maintain roads and provide basic services.
For American farmers and ranchers, renewable energy represents a hedge against the uncertainty that has come to define modern agriculture. Commodity prices swing wildly. Weather patterns have become less predictable. Input costs keep rising. Trade policies shift with every election. And yet, the bills keep coming due. Land leases from wind and solar projects provide stable, long-term income that doesn’t depend on rainfall, commodity markets, or Washington’s latest farm policy. That steady check in the mail can mean the difference between keeping the farm in the family and selling to a corporate consolidator.
The beauty of renewable energy development on agricultural land is that it doesn’t force an either-or choice. A farmer doesn’t have to choose between growing crops and hosting a wind turbine. The turbine takes up a tiny footprint, the rows of corn or soybeans run right up to the base, and the farmer collects lease payments on top of whatever the harvest brings. Solar arrays can be designed to allow grazing underneath or between the panels. And when these projects reach the end of their useful lives in twenty or thirty years, they’re decommissioned and the land returns to agricultural use. Farmland stays farmland. Ranchland stays ranchland. Families can pass their land to the next generation knowing it served them well without being permanently removed from production.
This matters in a nation where agriculture isn’t just an industry. It’s a way of life and a cultural identity. Rural communities don’t want to become industrial parks or housing subdivisions. They want to stay rural. Energy development done right allows them to do exactly that while generating the revenue they need to thrive.
But the economic opportunity extends far beyond rural America. By leveraging all of our energy resources, the United States can position itself as the world’s premier energy exporter. Our natural gas resources, combined with domestic demand met by renewables and nuclear, can be exported as liquefied natural gas to countries around the world. This brings prosperity from international customers eager to buy American energy, reduces global emissions by displacing coal, and strengthens America’s geopolitical position by making allies less dependent on adversaries. Countries that buy American natural gas aren’t funding authoritarian regimes in Russia or the Middle East. They’re supporting American workers, American innovation, and American leadership. That’s economic power translated into geopolitical influence.
When America exports LNG, we’re not just selling a commodity. We’re exporting energy security, environmental progress, and American values.
China understands what’s at stake. Chinese leaders are building power generation capacity at a pace that should alarm anyone concerned about American competitiveness. This year, they reached a milestone more than 50% of their power generation capacity is provided by non-fossil fuel sources. They’re not debating whether to build renewables or natural gas or nuclear. They’re building everything they can as fast as they can because they know that the nation with abundant electricity will lead in AI, and the nation that leads in AI will shape the future of the global economy.
America cannot afford to respond with half measures or ideological debates about which energy sources are politically acceptable. We need gigawatts and we need them fast. That means streamlining permitting without sacrificing environmental protection, creating regulatory certainty so investors know their capital won’t be stranded by political shifts, and building wind, solar, natural gas, nuclear, and storage wherever the grid needs them.
The misinformation campaigns funded by those who profit from limiting competition will inevitably push back. They’ll claim we can only afford to support one type of energy. They’ll argue that renewable energy is unreliable, even though the data shows wind and solar paired with natural gas and storage deliver excellent reliability. They’ll say we should wait for perfect solutions rather than deploy the technologies available today. These arguments don’t hold up under scrutiny, but they’re loud and well-funded because energy policy creates winners worth billions and losers facing obsolescence.
The facts tell a different story. Renewable energy is lowering electricity costs for consumers across the country. It’s providing stable income for farmers struggling with volatile commodity prices and uncertain weather. It’s generating tax revenue for rural communities that have been starving for investment. Nuclear is delivering emissions-free baseload power. Natural gas is keeping the lights on when demand spikes. Storage is making intermittent resources reliable. Together, these technologies are delivering the affordable, abundant power America needs to win the AI race and lead the world.
America doesn’t need to pick winners and losers. We need a level playing field where every energy resource can compete and every state can participate in the economic benefits. By using all of these resources strategically, America can do what no other nation can: deliver energy abundance that powers prosperity at home while strengthening our position abroad.
All-American energy from ALL American states isn’t just a slogan. It’s a strategy for building the abundant, affordable, reliable power system that American families need, American businesses demand, and American competitiveness requires. It’s a recognition that we need more of everything, working together, everywhere, all at once. And it’s an acknowledgment that the only thing standing between America and energy dominance is the political will to unleash the resources we already have.
The world is watching. Our competitors are building. And America’s next chapter will be written by whether we choose to develop All-American energy from ALL American states or whether we let political squabbles and special interests hold us back while others surge ahead. Every state has energy resources worth developing. Every state can contribute to American energy independence. And every American stands to gain from a policy that puts abundance ahead of scarcity, opportunity ahead of restriction, and national success ahead of narrow interests.
The choice belongs to the American people, but the window is closing. While our leaders in Washington weaponize government to tear down and impede the future of energy resources that compete with those they prefer, our global competitors are stealing the future of energy prosperity from our children. It’s time for political preferences and energy tribalism to end. It’s time to wake up to the reality that the only way to guarantee prosperity is to diversify our energy economy, to develop all of our many energy resources, and to embrace All-American energy from ALL American states.