The US energy sector fuels the nation’s economy, spanning AI, technology, education, healthcare, and manufacturing. Yet the country stands at the brink of a new energy era, with power demand projected to grow more than 3 percent annually through 2040. Addressing the anticipated challenges and opportunities for commercial, scientific, and technological advancement demands substantial innovation, investment, and political commitment, say Senior Partner Humayun Tai and coauthors.
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A stacked bar chart displays the US power demand by sector from 2010 to 2040, under a current trajectory scenario. The chart is measured in terawatt-hours and shows an overall upward trend, with a noted 3.5% annual increase. Each bar represents a year, and is segmented representing different sectors: buildings, industrial and conventional, data centers, transport, and hydrogen production. The chart shows a significant increase in power demand across all sectors from 2010 to 2040. A separate legend provides the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for each sector from 2025 to 2040. Hydrogen production shows the highest CAGR at 30.9%, followed by transport at 21.0%, data centers at 10.6%, industrial and conventional at 3.0%, and buildings at 0.5%.
Note: This image description was completed with the assistance of Writer, a gen AI tool.
Source: McKinsey Power Model.
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To read the article, see “Powering a new era of US energy demand,” April 29, 2025.