Smart cities will need AI and real time cloud computing to run, yet AI is projected to require seven times<\/a> more power than New York City\u2019s annual electricity consumption alone by 2030. Power demand is already skyrocketing. As the former Mayor of Philadelphia, I am excited about Pennsylvania\u2019s economic growth potential when it comes to AI, but I know increased smart city advancements aren\u2019t possible without an energy policy that embraces natural gas.<\/p>\n As an original founder of the Climate Mayors,<\/a> a national non-profit organization, I am in favor of setting goals for renewable energy. However, even as a lifelong Democrat, I cannot support far-reaching, all-or-nothing policies pitched by some members of my party that most Pennsylvanians and municipalities can\u2019t afford. While the typical installation cost for solar panels in Pennsylvania is over $20,000<\/a>, three-quarters of Pennsylvanians worry about access to affordable electricity<\/a>, according to a statewide poll.<\/p>\n More and more elected leaders nationwide are discovering the benefits of smart city initiatives and the necessity of a robust energy supply to power them.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, natural gas drives reductions in emissions and is responsible for over 60 percent of America\u2019s carbon emission reductions since 2005. It is currently the source of the majority<\/a> of our state\u2019s electricity, and heats more Pennsylvania homes than any other fuel.<\/a><\/p>\n The Democratic Governor\u2019s Association<\/a> held a panel on Smart Cities this past summer at their policy conference. More and more elected leaders nationwide are discovering the benefits of smart city initiatives and the necessity of a robust energy supply to power them.<\/p>\n Democratic leaders like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont understand that a successful clean-energy transition must be grounded in economic reality. They recognize natural gas is not a barrier to progress, but an energy source to work in tandem with more nuclear and renewables, keeping energy affordable and dependable while we scale clean technologies.<\/p>\n New York Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s recent acknowledgment<\/a> that natural gas must be part of New York\u2019s energy future is a critical turning point. It signals that the Governor understands that achieving a clean energy future does not mean discarding the tools that work today. Natural gas remains a cornerstone of grid reliability.<\/p>\n A major AI summit<\/a> was held in Pittsburgh this fall, headlined by Governor Shapiro<\/a> and U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA). This follows Carnegie Mellon\u2019s inaugural Energy and Innovation Summit<\/a> in July, hosted by Senator McCormick, where $90 billion<\/a> in investments toward AI and data centers was announced. Philadelphia was named in the top 10<\/a> U.S. smart cities for tech and sustainability in 2025, serving as headquarters for 12 AI companies.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania has a choice: Fall victim to the pressure of far-left energy policies that denounce natural gas, or embrace natural gas, in partnership with renewables, to hold onto its AI lead and power this next generation of smart cities.<\/p>\n Michael A. Nutter served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. He co-hosts The Citizen\u2019s How To Really Run A City podcast with former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed. He serves on the leadership council and is an advisor to Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future.<\/p>\n The Citizen welcomes guest commentary from community members who represent that it is their own work and their own opinion based on true facts that they know firsthand.<\/p>\n Photo by Brad Weaver<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As states look for ways to upgrade their infrastructure, meet their climate goals, and build communities where everyone…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19675,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[278,264,13740,3314,69,71,70],"class_list":["post-19674","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-philadelphia","tag-ai","tag-climate-change","tag-fracking","tag-guest-commentary","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphia-headlines","tag-philadelphia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19674","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19674"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19674\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19674"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19674"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19674"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761826085_460_nl_bolt600-copy.jpg\"\/)
ENERGY AND AI IN PENNSYLVANIA<\/p>\n