America’s Energy Future Starts Close to Home

Why every viable megawatt matters as demand rises‍
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As policymakers at the federal and state level consider the country’s energy priorities following the election, one reality should cut across political lines: America needs more power.

Electricity demand is accelerating, driven by data centers and AI compute, industrial growth and an increasingly electrified economy. At the same time, households and businesses are facing rising electricity costs, utilities are investing in infrastructure, and developers are navigating lengthy interconnection timelines and increasingly complex project economics.

The challenge is clear. We need more electricity, and we need it faster and closer to where it is used.

The Grid Needs Local Power

Meeting rising demand will require investment across the energy system, including large-scale generation, transmission, storage and a stronger grid. It will also require making better use of the places where power can be generated closer to the businesses and communities that need it.

Commercial-scale solar can turn rooftops, brownfields, parking canopies and other underutilized spaces into productive energy assets. Community solar can expand access to locally generated electricity without requiring customers to install solar on their own properties. Battery storage can add flexibility by allowing electricity to be stored and made available when it is most valuable.

These resources are not substitutes for utility-scale generation or the transmission infrastructure needed to move electricity across regions. They are an important complement, providing another way to add supply closer to existing demand.

At Altus Power, we see that opportunity every day. We operate more than 1.4 GW of solar and battery storage across 30 states and Washington, D.C., and have seen how existing properties can become productive energy assets.

Affordability Starts With Supply

Reliable, reasonably priced electricity is essential to households, businesses and America’s economic competitiveness.

There is no single solution to rising electricity costs. But one part of the equation is straightforward: when demand is growing, we need to add supply.

Meeting rising demand is not just about how much new power we can build, but how quickly we can bring it online. Distributed generation can make use of existing properties and infrastructure to add new supply closer to customers often on shorter development timelines, helping meet near-term power needs while larger infrastructure investments advance.

The value of any project depends on its economics, the needs of the local grid and the rules governing how electricity is developed and delivered. Policymakers should consider not only the cost of supporting new generation, but also the economic consequences of failing to add sufficient supply as demand continues to rise.

Turning Demand Into Durable Power Supply

Strong demand alone will not get projects built. A proposed megawatt is not the same as an operating megawatt.

Moving a project from concept to operation requires suitable sites, workable interconnection costs and timelines, efficient permitting, sound project economics, access to capital, and experienced engineering, procurement and construction capabilities.

The answer is not simply to provide incentives or approve more projects on paper. Policymakers, utilities and industry participants should examine the entire development process, including interconnection, permitting, siting and the practical barriers that can prevent viable projects from reaching operation.

Bringing a project online is only the beginning. Infrastructure creates value over decades of operation, not simply when construction is complete or a transaction closes. That requires disciplined capital allocation and the operational capabilities to manage assets and serve customers over the long term.

The goal should not be to build everything everywhere. It should be to invest in the right projects, in the right locations, with economics that can withstand changing market conditions and an operating model designed to support them for decades.

Policy Stability Is Fundamental to Investment

Infrastructure investment requires long-term visibility.

Good energy policy does not require rules to remain unchanged forever. Programs should be evaluated and allowed to evolve as technologies, markets and customer needs change. But those changes should be prospective, giving investors confidence that the rules governing existing investments will stay in place.

Markets with clear rules, efficient interconnection processes and predictable investment frameworks are better positioned to attract capital and move viable projects forward. Predictability cannot overcome poor project economics, but uncertainty can make otherwise sound projects more difficult to finance and build.

As states and utilities consider how to meet rising electricity demand, they have an opportunity to include distributed generation in a broader, technology-inclusive strategy for expanding supply. Clear interconnection rules, efficient permitting and durable policy frameworks help viable projects become operating assets.

Making Every Megawatt Count

America’s power challenge will not be solved by any single technology or scale of generation. We need large-scale generation, transmission, storage and a stronger grid. We also need to make better use of the places where electricity can be generated much closer to the customers who need it.

The case for local power is simple: demand is rising, affordability matters, and supply has to keep pace.

Every viable megawatt matters. Let’s make every one count.