Montgomery “Scotty” Scott, Chief Engineer of the USS Enterprise, is famous for the line, “I’m givin’ her all she’s got, Captain!” It captures his role as the ship’s miracle worker, constantly balancing Kirk’s extreme demands with what the engines could realistically deliver.
Source: x.com
Scotty was always in an impossible spot. Kirk would lean forward, eyes locked on the glowing viewscreen, demanding more speed, more power, more everything. Shields flaring. Engines screaming. Lives on the line. And every time, Scotty would respond the same way: the ship was already at its limit. She was giving all she had.
Minutes later, against all odds, Scotty would coax another fraction of power from the engines — a little miracle only he could pull off.
That tension — between ambition and physical limits — is exactly where we find ourselves with artificial intelligence today.
We talk about AI as if it’s mostly software: algorithms, models, chips. But it doesn’t float on clever math alone. AI runs on electricity — vast, unrelenting amounts, humming through wires and servers like warp plasma through the Enterprise. And the uncomfortable truth is that its growth is now an energy story, whether we’re ready for it or not. And just as Kirk asks Scotty for more power than he is sure he can deliver, U.S. data centers are forecast to demand more power than we may be able to supply, as shown in our first chart below.
Source: A16Z
Every new AI model, every data center, every incremental improvement in performance pulls more power from the grid. Training large models is energy-intensive, but even everyday usage adds up fast. An AI query can consume many times the electricity of a traditional search. Multiply that by billions of requests, and suddenly the demand curve starts to look a lot less theoretical.
This is where Scotty’s other famous line becomes relevant — the one he did actually say. “I canna’ change the laws of physics.” We’re running into those laws now.
Data centers already consume a meaningful share of U.S. electricity, and projections suggest that number could nearly double within a few years as AI adoption accelerates. The problem isn’t just total demand. It’s timing, location, and reliability. Data centers require constant, uninterrupted power, often in regions where grid capacity was never designed for such loads. Utilities are warning that reserve margins are shrinking. Transmission projects take years. Permitting moves slowly. The engines are already running hot.
Meanwhile, the global competition isn’t waiting. China is adding generation capacity at a pace that makes U.S. expansion look cautious by comparison. That matters because AI infrastructure follows power. Compute goes where electricity is abundant, reliable, and cheap. Energy is quietly becoming a strategic input in the AI race, just as important as chips or talent.
Even the companies building AI systems are sounding the alarm. When they start openly worrying about whether the grid can keep up, that’s not hype — that’s an engineer talking, not a marketer.
And it’s not just electricity. The physical buildout behind AI is massive. Data centers need copper — a lot of it — for wiring, cooling, and power delivery. We’re not running out — the U.S. Geological Survey estimates 48 million tons of domestic copper, enough to keep the lights on for decades, if only it could be refined fast enough.
The real challenge is turning ore into usable metal at speed. Bringing a new U.S. mine online takes 19 years — one of the world’s longest lead times, shaped by regulation. That’s one of the longest in the world, as shown below.
AI infrastructure alone could consume hundreds of thousands of tons by the decade’s end. Meanwhile, investment in data centers has soared, with tens of billions pouring into construction each month. We’re building the Enterprise at warp speed, faster than the engines can reliably handle.
If Scotty were watching all this, he’d probably admire the ambition — and worry about the strain. He understood something essential: you can optimize systems, improve efficiency, and shave margins, but eventually you need more raw power. You can’t will energy into existence.
The way US power markets are structured makes AI’s demand shock tricky. Domestic electricity demand was basically flat for about 20 years. The internet, smartphones, and significant economic and population growth were offset by efficiency gains. We just got a lot smarter about how we use electricity.
Source: A16Z
This led to evolution on the grid, as shown in our final chart above. First, gas replaced coal. Now renewables are beginning to displace gas at the margin. But now we’re leaving the “mature market” regime and entering a new growth phase driven by data centers as true baseload. Renewables aren’t yet able to meet this kind of demand.
That’s the wake-up call — and a bridge to something bigger. AI’s energy appetite forces a conversation we’ve delayed for years: How do we expand generation responsibly? Modernize grids built for a different era? Balance reliability, cost, security, and sustainability at scale?
There are real answers: advanced nuclear, grid-scale storage, smarter transmission, renewables paired with AI-driven load management. Even AI itself can help, predicting demand, balancing loads, and cutting waste in ways we’ve never seen before.
In Star Trek, the Enterprise survived not because Scotty ignored limits, but because he respected them and planned around them. He knew when to warn the captain and when to take calculated risks. That mindset is exactly what this moment calls for.
AI isn’t slowing down. The question isn’t whether we’ll need more energy. The question is whether we’ll prepare for it deliberately — or wait until someone is shouting for warp speed while the engines are already overheating.
Because you can only push the system so far. No matter how clever the software gets, the laws of physics still have the final say — just ask Scotty. This is another critically important story that will continue to evolve through the economic, political, and regulatory backdrop. We will do our best to keep you informed about these important topics as we continue “Moving Life Forward.”
© 2026 Jesse Hurst
Senior Wealth Manager
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