Why Canada Wants New Oil Pipelines, the Return of Gas Power, and a New Plan to Build Housing

Here are some trends that I'm following

This is the 5th edition of a new format I’m trying out on the Distilled newsletter. As I explained in the first edition, my plan is to share stories, charts, and interesting stuff I find while doing research for my longer stories.

Here’s what’s in today’s newsletter:

• Natural gas power is making a comeback in the US. In the last year, gas power capacity under construction has grown by 64%.

• Another forecast shows AI power demand accelerating. Nearly a quarter of newly proposed data centers are 500 MW or larger.

• Climate hawk and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to build oil pipelines. A map of the country’s pipeline infrastructure shows why.

• Two new research papers suggest a novel way to build more housing in America: Give NIMBY’s and renters cash.

• Why Slow YouTube is my favorite new genre on the internet.

Natural gas power is slowly making a comeback in the US

As I wrote in my last newsletter, one of the best ways to see the future of America’s electric grid is to look at what kind of power projects are under construction.

So what does the construction pipeline tell us about the future of natural gas power? That after a decade of steady decline, gas is making a comeback. In the last year, gas capacity under construction has grown 64% to 8,691 MW. Gas capacity across all stages of development we track at Cleanview has more than doubled in the last year.

I wrote up a more detailed analysis on construction pipelines—including how much solar, wind, and battery capacity the US is currently building—for Cleanview. You can check it out here.

Another day, another big AI power demand forecast