During Chicago's inaugural Climate Week, conversations hosted and attended by the BMO Climate Institute spanned a wide range of topics, from energy policy and clean energy development to the role of nature as infrastructure.

Across these discussions, a common theme emerged: the next phase of the energy transition will not only call for capital and technology. It will also require balancing surging energy demand with affordability, community trust, and environmental stewardship.

At a panel hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), discussion focused on the dynamic clean energy policy landscape and the impact on project economics and financing strategies.

Across the market, BMO is seeing clients adjust project strategies to preserve favorable economics from investment tax credits. As federal solar credits phase down, those shifts include increased attention on solar-plus-storage projects.

Some participants noted that states are taking a larger role in supporting clean energy deployment through their own frameworks and incentives. Other discussions pointed to permitting and interconnection queue reform as a critical lever to reduce delays, lower costs, and bring new power generation online faster.

Affordability remains one of the most important constraints regarding energy. Rising electricity bills are putting more pressure on households while utilities and developers are working to modernize the grid.

Research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory links much of the rising cost of residential energy bills to natural disaster impacts and needed grid refurbishment. That dynamic illustrates how underinvestment in infrastructure and the growing cost of climate-related disruption can flow through to consumers.

With affordability a significant household challenge, data centers have become a focal point for public concern. In many communities, growing electricity demand from data centers is understood to result in higher energy costs, fueling skepticism and opposition to new development. This perception contributes to broader challenges around community trust and social license to operate.

Developers and investors offered a distinct perspective, arguing that large data center investments can help fund infrastructure upgrades that benefit all customers and may help offset costs for ratepayers over time.

Indeed, beyond the community debate, many participants viewed data centers as one of the most significant drivers of infrastructure investment in decades. The rapid growth of AI-enabled computing is creating demand for new generation capacity, transmission upgrades, energy storage, and grid modernization. For investors, developers and policymakers, the challenge is ensuring that capital deployment keeps pace with demand growth while delivering tangible benefits for local communities.

Another consistent theme was how we value and protect natural assets that communities depend on, including fresh water and tree cover. Participants in these conversations noted that nature and infrastructure should be thought about as more similar than they are different. Both are essential to sustaining communities, and neither are guaranteed without protection and investment.

The community trust challenge is especially acute in water-stressed regions. As corporate, agricultural, and residential demand for water grows, communities are increasingly focused on cost, access, and long-term resilience.

Chicago Climate Week reinforced that affordability and public trust are central now in the energy ecosystem. Participants expressed confidence that innovation, policy, and private capital can support the buildout needed to meet growing electricity demand, but they also recognized that communities must see tangible benefits from that growth.

As energy demand accelerates, investors, developers, and policymakers will be required to navigate a complex landscape where investment decisions are evaluated not only on their economic and environmental merits, but also on their ability to earn and maintain public trust and community engagement.