The Path Forward: Take the Lead Back, Win the Energy Century

Every candidate answers on the record: do you accept the science? 97% of actively publishing climate scientists say yes — and so does the weather. 9 in 10 Americans who lived through this year's heat waves, floods, or storms say climate change was a factor. No more "I'm not a scientist" dodges. Denial isn't a policy position — it's how we fell behind.

Natural gas and oil aren't the enemy — they're the bridge, not the target. The NRC has certified small nuclear reactors that self-cool for weeks with zero outside power. DOE found 80% of retiring coal sites are strong candidates for next-gen reactors, reusing the grid connections already there and cutting costs 15–35%.

China exported 2.6 million EVs in 2025 — more than the US exported of any vehicle, of any kind. BYD alone now sells in 119 countries, including Mexico (China's #1 export market in 2025) and Canada under a new 2026 trade deal. Ford, GM, and Stellantis wrote off $47 billion in EV investment after Washington killed the tax credit. Political whiplash didn't kill the transition. It handed it to Beijing.

Next-gen batteries decide who wins everything else on this list. Solid-state batteries promise real gains for EVs — independently verified lab results already show 80%+ capacity retention after 450 cycles, with far less fire risk than today's cells. The Pentagon is already funding solid-state research through DARPA and the Army. Grid storage and the batteries now powering AI data centers run on today's lithium-ion technology — and that market is exploding, from 44.6 GW to a projected 67.5 GW in just one year. All of it depends on a manufacturing base China already controls — 80% of global battery cells. Japan and Korea, not China, lead on solid-state patents, which means the next generation is still up for grabs.

America's grid gets a D+ from civil engineers — down from a C- five years ago, one of the only categories getting worse. In that same five years, China added roughly 1,000 gigawatts of nuclear, solar, and wind combined to its grid — nearly five times the ~210 gigawatts the US added. Over 2,600 gigawatts of new power, mostly wind, solar, and storage, are stuck waiting for a grid connection — a wait that now averages 5+ years. The fix isn't picking winners: renewables, nuclear, hydro, oil and gas all stay in the mix, with hydrogen coming online for long-duration storage. The only fuel that comes off the grid is coal — already down to 16% of US power, phased out entirely within a decade.

This isn't just about lowering emissions — it's about who sells the world its energy technology for the next fifty years. China already dominates: 80% of global battery manufacturing, most of the world's solar panels, 2.6 million EVs exported in a single year, and more nuclear reactors under construction than any other country. Whoever leads in nuclear, batteries, EVs, solar, wind, and the automation that builds all of it exports the technology, equipment, and expertise the rest of the world has to buy. America invented most of this — the choice now is whether we keep inventing it and let someone else build and sell it, or build and sell it ourselves, including in the technologies nobody's invented yet.