Powering AI Global Leadership Summit
Energy Workforce & Technology Council President Molly Determan recently participated in the Powering AI Global Leadership Summit, hosted by the Hamm Institute for American Energy. The gathering brought together energy executives, AI developers, and policymakers to address the future of artificial intelligence and the critical energy infrastructure needed to support it.
EWTC was proud to be represented by Board Member Matt Armstrong of Baker Hughes and Oklahoma Chapter Vice Chair Andy Horner of SLB, alongside EWTC President Molly Determan.
One thing was crystal clear: the promise of AI is massive, but so is the power demand.
We heard again and again about the need for:
- Scalable energy infrastructure to support AI development
- Certainty in contracts between energy providers and hyperscalers
- Faster, clearer decision-making from government to keep innovation onshore
“As the voice of the energy services sector, Energy Workforce knows that our members are the driving force behind real progress,” said Energy Workforce President Molly Determan. “Our members are building the systems and deploying the people who will power this next chapter. Energy Workforce is proud to help lead the conversation that rightly positions energy as the foundation, not the afterthought, of America’s AI future.”
The event featured several high-profile discussions highlighting these critical themes.
The Honorable Chris Wright, U.S. Secretary of Energy, the Honorable Brooke Rollins, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the Honorable Lee Zeldin, Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, took the stage together to discuss how government must work in lockstep to support U.S. energy innovation and infrastructure. Moderated by Hamm Institute Executive Director Ann Bluntzer Pullin, the message was clear:
We cannot lead the AI era without a bold, reliable, and scalable energy strategy. It will take coordinated policy, public-private partnerships, and a whole-of-government approach to get there.
There is no question, America’s competitive edge in AI depends on the strength of its energy foundation, and the work has already begun.
Attendees also heard from Jack Clark, Co-Founder of Anthropic and policy leader behind Claude AI, whose keynote laid out the scale of the challenge ahead:
“By 2027, a single AI model could consume more power in one training run than Oklahoma’s largest power plant produces — 2GW.”
Clark called for the U.S. to build 50GW of dedicated AI power capacity to remain globally competitive, emphasizing that energy is the lever and policy is the key to securing America’s leadership in transformative AI.
Additional panels explored the future of resilient energy solutions:
- Occidental’s Vicki Hollub, ONEOK’s Pierce Norton, and API’s Mike Sommers discussing how to build a sound, forward-looking energy policy that meets rising global demand and powers the next era of innovation — AI included.
- Jeff Gustavson (Chevron), Pablo Koziner (GE Vernova), Doug Lawler (Continental Resources), and Malone Mitchell (TransAtlantic Petroleum) explored how common-sense energy policies can strengthen national security and advance American energy leadership. Discussions ranged from optimizing oil and natural gas operations to securing natural gas turbines that will power AI development.
- Alix Steel (Bloomberg) moderated The Minds Behind the Machines panel with leaders from Anthropic, Amazon, and NVIDIA, spotlighting the urgent need for scalable, stable energy solutions.
- Caroline Cochran (Oklo), Sarah Jewett (Fervo Energy), and Matt Pawlowski (NextEra Energy) discussed how nuclear and geothermal resources can play a key additive role in meeting the energy demands of the AI era.
- Jason Bordoff (Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University), Duke Austin (Quanta Services), Chris Womack (Southern Company), David Dardis (Constellation), and Urvi Parekh (Meta) emphasized the historic opportunity to modernize America’s infrastructure — not just to keep up, but to leap forward into the future.
Karina Erickson, Communications Director, writes about the Energy Workforce & Technology Council. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
