The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC) is a research institute that describes its mission as "working to ensure that energy markets provide access to reliable, affordable energy, while limiting environmental and social damages," through interdisciplinary, data-driven research, outreach and training. Its director is Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago (AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy).
AP-NORC/EPIC energy survey
EPIC funds an annual survey of U.S. adults on energy and climate conducted by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research; staff from NORC at the University of Chicago, the Associated Press and EPIC collaborate on its design and analysis. The 2026 edition, released September 16, 2026 and fielded July 6–24 among 3,424 adults, added questions on artificial intelligence and data centers. It found 53% extremely or very concerned about AI's environmental impacts (41% in 2025) and 47% expecting AI to do more to hurt than help the environment over the next ten years (33% in 2025), and majority support for requiring companies that build data centers to pay for the grid upgrades needed to support them (73%), requiring data centers to use clean energy sources (65%) and limiting the number of new data centers (62%) (AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy).
The series' long-running carbon-fee experiment randomly assigns respondents a monthly household cost between $1 and $100. On the 2026 results, Greenstone said the average American was willing to pay about $29 a month to combat climate change, "the lowest amount since we started asking this question a decade ago, once adjusted for inflation," and that "any durable climate policy must balance emissions reductions with affordability" (AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy).
EPIC published the survey's full topline on its own site (Source: epic.uchicago.edu) together with a release titled "Concern About AI's Environmental Impact has Risen Over the Past Year, Especially Among Young Adults" (Source: epic.uchicago.edu).
Relationships
- supports: AP-NORC/EPIC 2026 Energy Survey: AI, Data Centers, Climate and Energy — funder of the 2026 energy survey.
- related: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research — conducts the survey series.
- related: AI Environmental Impact, Data Center Siting / AI Power Politics, Energy and Electric Power Sector — topics of the 2026 AI and data-center items.