By William McQuilkin, retired U.S. Navy rear admiral

Energy is power. It not only powers our way of life, but it is also a key component of national power.

History is replete with examples. The Dutch harnessed the wind with windmills, powering the Netherlands’ economy and the nation’s rise as early as the 17^th century. The British Empire was fueled by coal and the invention of the steam engine, which led to the Industrial Revolution. The age of oil for the United States started in 1859 when oil was found in western Pennsylvania. Oil and geopolitics have been intertwined, ever since.

Today, another energy transition is underway in renewable energy, and I am concerned that we are ceding ground to China in this next energy revolution. China is way ahead in renewable energy and battery technology, including solar power, an American invention.

Putting aside the climate concerns for the moment, energy security is an essential component of U.S. national security. We need to start treating renewable energy as a strategic commodity. Effective energy policies are vital to U.S. prosperity and geopolitical standing. We need a new energy economy that works for everyone.

Like it or not, we are in a long-term strategic competition with China for global order and leadership. The stakes are high. China leads the world in clean energy technology and electric vehicles. China has also cornered the market and dominates critical clean energy supply chains on commodities such as lithium, copper and rare-earth magnets. These are the technologies of the 21st century and the future.

Energy technology transitions, as in changes to world order, generally produce periods of disruption and conflict. We can’t stand on the sidelines of the clean energy transition. We must get into the game.

The current White House administration has rightfully highlighted the skyrocketing energy demands of AI, large data centers and new American innovation. We will need new technologies and a diverse energy mix to meet these challenges.

It is going to take a full-court press to spur and leverage American innovation to improve domestic supply chains, modernize our electric grid’s infrastructure and reform how energy projects are permitted to shrink timelines. Renewable energy will need to be a large part of this mix if we are to stay competitive and cost conscious.

However, despite rising energy demands and the ramp-up of renewable energy far exceeding predictions a couple of decades ago, the current administration has turned away from supporting the clean energy transition and doubled down on fossil fuels. The “One Big Beautiful Bill” was a major change in tack and eliminated many of the clean energy policies of the previous administration.

In his remarks at the U.N. General Assembly, President Donald Trump called climate change “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.” I am not sure that the good residents of Southern California who suffered the devastating wildfires at the beginning of this year, or those still recovering from Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina, would agree with him. The earth is burning, the ice is melting and calving into the sea, and sea level is rising. It doesn’t sound like a hoax to me.

We cannot let energy policy become so politicized. We need consistency in our long-term strategic energy planning and a stable investment climate for businesses and entrepreneurs.

Dealing with the climate emergency is not only a national security strategic imperative, it also presents an opportunity for the U.S. to exert global leadership. The global transition to a clean energy future will be difficult, and there is no institutional framework to deal with a problem of this scale. Enter the U.S., the only country that can properly lead a new global order capable of dealing with this existential crisis.

This is also an opportunity to showcase U.S. soft power and strengthen our web of international partners. Although not particularly in vogue at the Pentagon these days, I feel that soft power is vital to U.S. national interests. As a former naval officer, I am familiar with the importance of maintaining a free and open international commons, such as the freedom of the seas. It is a global public good that benefits everyone.

The international commons now includes global climate change, the air that we all breathe and the thin atmosphere above us that all life depends on. I remember sitting on a panel in South Asia focused on maritime security, and a Bangladeshi general told me he had had to move his family multiple times because rising sea levels inundated his village. How the U.S communicates its concerns about the effects of climate change to the most at-risk nations, especially across the global South, will matter a lot to our international standing.

The clean energy transition will be hard and take a long time. But it is already underway, and we need to make sure that we aren’t taking one step forward and two steps back with every change in administration.

We need to ensure that our energy policies are well planned and attract private capital and investment. More specifically, we need to ensure energy markets in this country are truly equal playing fields. We also need to keep consumers worried about rising energy costs at the forefront. Ratepayers shouldn’t foot the bill for adding capacity to power large data centers.

America can lead the clean energy transition and renew the American spirit and our global competitiveness in the process, but the train is leaving the station. I hear the steam whistle blowing.

America is at its best when it leads. It led the recovery of a devastated world economy following World War II with the Marshall Plan. It can lead again, bringing jobs back home for U.S. workers, promoting a more balanced and just world order, and helping to stave off the worst effects of climate change.

William McQuilkin is a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral who commanded the Aegis cruiser USS Gettysburg, where he served as Air Defense Commander in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He currently resides on his farm in Florida. Banner photo: Solar panels and wind turbines on a mountain in China (iStock image). 

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Tags: clean energy transitiondata centersDonald Trumpelectric vehiclesnational securityOne Big Beautiful Billrenewable energysea-level risesolar