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The race to power the AI boom is quickly becoming one of the market’s most profitable stories as data centers scramble for dependable electricity. McKinsey now expects U.S. data‑center power use to jump from 147 terawatt‑hours in 2023 to 606 terawatt‑hours by 2030, with data centers consuming about 11.7% of total U.S. electricity. This surge is straining an already aging grid, making new connections slower and costlier, and pushing more capital toward fuel cells as an alternative.
Bloom Energy (BE) has landed squarely at the center of that narrative. Shares of BE stock jumped 50% in early January after American Electric Power (AEP) disclosed a landmark $2.65 billion agreement for Bloom’s solid‑oxide fuel cells. BE stock is up more than 500% for the past 52 weeks as a result. But is this deal a reason to buy the stock in January 2026? Or a sign that expectations have finally run too far ahead? Let’s take a closer look.
