In this episode of Energy Newsbeat – Conversations in Energy, host Stu Turley sits down with Sarah E. Hunt, President of the Rainey Center, to break down groundbreaking new polling that reveals overwhelming bipartisan support for American energy dominance, secure domestic data centers, and rapid permitting reform. Sarah explains how voters overwhelmingly link energy independence to national security, the growing AI arms race with China, and the urgent need to build every possible electron—nuclear, natural gas, solar, wind—to safeguard America’s technological future. From China’s 10x energy build-out to AI-driven permitting solutions, this conversation delivers sharp insights, alarming realities, and a clear call to action for policymakers across the U.S.

Highlights of the Podcast

00:00 - Intro

00:33 – Why Energy Dominance = National Security

01:04 – The Shocking Truth About U.S. Data Stored in China

02:27 – Voters See a Tech Arms Race With China

03:23 – China’s 10x Energy Build-Out Advantage

03:58 – Nuclear Power, Permitting, & Speeding Up Builds

05:42 – Using AI to Fix Permitting Bottlenecks

06:08 – The “Three Horsemen” of Energy Dominance

07:02 – Voters Overwhelmingly Support Cutting Red Tape

08:03 – Grid Vulnerabilities & Chinese-Linked Equipment

09:02 – Electricity as a Weapon of War

10:12 – Bipartisan Consensus on Energy Independence

10:40 – How the Rainey Center Started

11:22 – Supporting Local, State & Federal Leaders

14:00 – State-Level Energy Action & AI Competition With China

16:41 – The Electricity War for Human Freedom

17:15 – Wind, Solar, Nuclear & Reality of Energy Costs

18:44 – Who Should Pay for Data Center Power?

20:18 – Solar Already Built But Stuck in Red Tape

21:48 – Critical Minerals, Supply Chains & Energy Security

22:13 – How to Follow & Connect With Sarah

23:59 – Closing Remarks

We recommend checking out the Rainey Center for Public Policy: https://www.raineycenter.org/

Follow Sarah on her LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahelisabethhunt/

Check out https://theenergynewsbeat.substack.com/

and

https://energynewsbeat.co/