The new power generation project in the United States is facing greater approval resistance, and the expansion of the AI data centre is synchronizing to boost electricity demand. A recent study by the Advisory Body Wood Mackenzie states that the approval changes and withdrawal of federal funds facilitated by the Trump Government could affect the new clean electricity supply totalling 92 Giwa and spread over $12.1 billion in energy investments.
Project cancelled
According to the report, the approval adjustments and withdrawal of funds on federal land since 2025 have led to the cancellation of 7 Giva ' s capacity. If the additional review continues, a further 12 Giwa projects may be affected on federal land and 80 on private land may be at risk of cancellation.
In terms of structure, wind, photovoltaic and storage projects continue to be the most affected. The report mentions that in 2025, the new power generation in the United States reached a record 53 gigawatts, almost 90 per cent of which came from photovoltaics, battery storage and wind power. This means that, once approval continues to slow, the most important source of new power in the United States will be first under pressure.
AI power demand continues to rise.
After almost two decades of stagnation, United States electricity demand has risen again in recent years, with data centre expansion being one of the main drivers. With the continuation of AI, the market is expected to continue to expand in number and size of data centres over the next decade.
Bloomberg NEF predicts that by 2035, the amount of electricity used in the data centre may be close to three times the current level. When supply growth is limited, the mismatch between additional loads and the landing of power projects is becoming a real pressure on the United States electricity system.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the United States has requested grid operators to provide faster access to the grid, but access bottlenecks for new power generation projects have not been significantly alleviated. The report mentions that in the largest grid area in the United States, operators have largely blocked access to new sources of electricity generation over the past four years, bringing supply near a freeze during the rising demand phase. As a result, some of the technology companies began to switch to self-built on-site power sources in order to reduce the uncertainty of external power supply.
The approvals are focused on multiple states.
This round of approval friction was mainly related to an order issued by the United States Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, in August 2025. The order provides for enhanced review of wind and photovoltaic projects considered to have potential environmental impacts.
Wood Mackenzie claims that, in addition to wind and photovoltaics, there have been cases of cancellation of the storage energy project. Current approval issues are concentrated in Oregon, Alabama, Maine, Minnesota and Montana. Of these, photovoltaic projects, which are particularly close to private wetlands, are at higher risk, while wind and electricity projects are more subject to space-based regulatory review.
It was also mentioned that the recent decision of the Trump government to remove about 80 per cent of the protection of wetlands in the United States made it more difficult to judge how the relevant rules would be applied to future photovoltaic projects. For developers, the longer approval cycle itself increases the cost of financing, building and networking and further slows the release of new supplies.