Doug Burgum

They today produce 20% less electricity and that electricity costs three times as much as it did before they began the transition. And now we have the war with Russia and Ukraine. What are they doing? They were scrambling to try to reopened coal plants. They were scrambling to try to get back in the nuclear game. They were saying, wow, we overshot the mark. We went too far.

Again, highly subsidizing intermittent sources. And so it's like, I think part of the awakening that is occurring right now is that if the greatest existential threat to the planet and to America is not one degree of climate change in the year 2100, because guess what? Innovation

Again, highly subsidizing intermittent sources. And so it's like, I think part of the awakening that is occurring right now is that if the greatest existential threat to the planet and to America is not one degree of climate change in the year 2100, because guess what? Innovation

We'll solve any challenges that we have with climate change, with innovation, and we won't have innovation without electricity. And actually losing the AI arms race to China is the real threat.

We'll solve any challenges that we have with climate change, with innovation, and we won't have innovation without electricity. And actually losing the AI arms race to China is the real threat.

Yeah, and some of that could be coming in the next decade. It doesn't help us today because today we've got to shore it up. And I think one thing that, you know, having spent 30 years in tech, we never used more than 1% of the nation's electrical production. And it was because computers were getting more... You mean tech? Yeah, tech.

Yeah, and some of that could be coming in the next decade. It doesn't help us today because today we've got to shore it up. And I think one thing that, you know, having spent 30 years in tech, we never used more than 1% of the nation's electrical production. And it was because computers were getting more... You mean tech? Yeah, tech.

The tech industry. We used 1% and no one paid any attention. And the tech industry didn't pay any attention to power generation because they didn't have to because PCs got more efficient, software got more efficient. And then America was rich. Everyone was buying appliances that were more efficient. So there wasn't ever really a demand curve on electricity.

The tech industry. We used 1% and no one paid any attention. And the tech industry didn't pay any attention to power generation because they didn't have to because PCs got more efficient, software got more efficient. And then America was rich. Everyone was buying appliances that were more efficient. So there wasn't ever really a demand curve on electricity.

But then today with AI, the demand curve is just flying in the face. And when I was at Sarah Week, which is the biggest – energy conclave. When I was speaking to the group, I said, there's something different here this year. And what's different is the five biggest tech companies in America showed up at that conference with $300 billion of CapEx.

But then today with AI, the demand curve is just flying in the face. And when I was at Sarah Week, which is the biggest – energy conclave. When I was speaking to the group, I said, there's something different here this year. And what's different is the five biggest tech companies in America showed up at that conference with $300 billion of CapEx.

You know, the big ones have got 75 billion a piece, you know, for the top ones on that chart. And I'll reflect back to not that long ago, a couple decades ago, I was a corporate officer at Microsoft for seven years. I never went to a CapEx meeting. Somebody said, well, weren't you invited? I said, no, there were no CapEx meetings. You know, we hired salespeople and software developers.

You know, the big ones have got 75 billion a piece, you know, for the top ones on that chart. And I'll reflect back to not that long ago, a couple decades ago, I was a corporate officer at Microsoft for seven years. I never went to a CapEx meeting. Somebody said, well, weren't you invited? I said, no, there were no CapEx meetings. You know, we hired salespeople and software developers.

And if we needed an office in Singapore or Munich, we rented it, leased it. And so there was no CapEx. And now they showed up at that conference and I had to speak to all the executives and said, look, these guys aren't here trying to sell you software. They're your biggest customers. They need power and they will do anything.

And if we needed an office in Singapore or Munich, we rented it, leased it. And so there was no CapEx. And now they showed up at that conference and I had to speak to all the executives and said, look, these guys aren't here trying to sell you software. They're your biggest customers. They need power and they will do anything.

And the regulated power providers and some in the industry just have never seen a demand curve. So it's like a collision between high tech and the power generation in America. And coming from that, we've got to figure out a way to break through this.

And the regulated power providers and some in the industry just have never seen a demand curve. So it's like a collision between high tech and the power generation in America. And coming from that, we've got to figure out a way to break through this.

Well, I'd say that the good news is that we have a president of the United States that understands this. And that's why on day one in office, he declared an energy emergency. Some folks that aren't. familiar with what you've just described, this awareness that we're facing a crisis.

Well, I'd say that the good news is that we have a president of the United States that understands this. And that's why on day one in office, he declared an energy emergency. Some folks that aren't. familiar with what you've just described, this awareness that we're facing a crisis.

We're questioning whether we had an energy emergency, but as you've just described, we have a huge one relative to our grid, grid stability. We don't have enough power to win the AI arms race. And the AI arms race means without that, we lose the defense battle. Because it's not just robotics in manufacturing,