China managed to double energy production between 2015-2025 (including 60 nuclear reactors). On paper the west should be able to do the same, tech companies are putting huge money into solar, natural gas, and nuclear. Most of the limitations are as you mention people protesting the whole idea of new industry and energy, which is the source of most of the risk. That plus open model/Chinese competition undercutting some big US IPOs.

The long term investments in datacenters and chip manufacturing will likely coincide with with growth in demand from humanoid robots and self-driving cars, so it is likely going to happen anyway over the next decade.

It just will take longer than people expect which creates financial risk, but US capital markets are more resilient than people think.

And yet, despite those hypothetical rosy scenarios on paper, tens of millions of ratepayers across different regions in the US are seeing their power bills increase right now, even with inefficient gas turbines being deployed on-site and bypassing emissions rules.

There’s a hyperscalar arms race where new data centers are measured in gigawatts, which is a uniquely perverse metric to the data center buildout that literally uses consumption as the lead marketing in press releases. Oracle is currently in the news protesting that a utility had the audacity to require a payment to guarantee the 7 billion+ of infrastructure necessary for their planned 1GW+ datacenter, taking for granted that the upside should accrue to their investors with all the risk being carried by ratepayers.

All of that is without even getting to the miserable state of consumer electronics which now routinely see 30%+ price increases for the same specs. Or these same companies laying off hundreds of thousands with press releases pointing to AI “efficiencies”.

The idea that “doomers” are just being manipulated by social media negativity instead of their actual lived experiences and direct observations feels like motivated reasoning or a bit out of touch.

China has been building coal power plants like crazy. They brought around 80GW online in 2025 alone.

> people protesting the whole idea of new industry and energy,

I may be venturing into aluminum hat territory but it appears that oil and gas companies and conservative organizations are pumping all sorts of FUD and misinformation into the anti-solar, anti-battery movement, period.

One of the arguments against widespread solar is that it's environmentally damaging, yet, time and time again, it's shown that solar farms increase soil moisture, improve biodiversity in plants and insects, period. If cattle or sheep are grazing on that land, the shade reduces their stress from summer heat and can also shelter them sometimes in the winter.

Again, may be complete BS, but apparently Chinese desert solar farms are increasing the moisture in the desert, making it easier for plants to grow and increasing rainfall downstream from the plant solar farms.

China has tightly integrated domestic supply and a centrally planned economy. That's why China has consistently been able to do things that are simply impossible in the west.