The Megawatt Is the New Microchip
EIA’s AEO2026 shows that AI is no longer just a digital story. It is becoming a commercial-building, utility-planning, and infrastructure-governance story.
The New Geography of AI Infrastructure
AI is making computation physical again: global AI capacity will follow not just chips and fiber, but power, water, cooling, permits, grid reliability, and the emerging Shadow Grid that turns energy infrastructure into the new map of AI advantage.
Brandon Owens
AEO 2026 in Review: A Structural Shift in U.S. Energy System Dynamics
AEO2026 reframes its “Reference Case” as a control, not a forecast, and reveals a structural shift: electricity demand—driven by data centers and AI—is now the primary system variable, with load shape (continuous vs peak) redefining grid costs and planning
Brandon Owens