Rising energy demand is reshaping how engineers think, design and build, but not in the same way across every corner of the industry. And not at the same speed across Western Pennsylvania’s classrooms, factories and jobsites.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicts electricity use will grow by 1% this year and 3% in 2027, marking the first time since 2007 that power demand has risen four consecutive years. The driving factor behind the surge is increasing demand from large computing centers, according to the EIA.

“U.S. energy production remains strong, and natural gas output is expected to grow to nearly 109 billion cubic feet per day this year,” EIA administrator Tristan Abbey said in a January report. “Natural gas supply is critical as we forecast that U.S. liquefied natural gas exports expand and electricity demand rises through 2027, driven largely by increasing demand from large computing facilities, including data centers.”

From university programs preparing engineering students for a rapidly evolving energy field to manufacturers managing immediate cost pressures and engineering firms working within increasingly strict building codes, the response to higher energy costs and changing energy systems is unfolding unevenly. In education, it is forward-looking and technology-driven. In manufacturing, it is immediate, practical and shaped by constraints.

Together, those perspectives offer a clearer picture of how engineering is adapting, and where the greatest challenges remain.

At the academic level, the shift is already well underway.

“Energy has essentially become a universal currency,” said Viacheslau “Slava” Kudrashou, associate professor of petroleum engineering at Slippery Rock University.

A decade ago, engineering programs were still largely focused on fossil fuels. Today, students are being trained to navigate a much broader and more complex energy landscape that includes renewables, natural gas, petroleum and nuclear energy.

“Future energy systems will include everything,” Kudrashou said. “It’s no longer just about making something work. Engineers now have to consider efficiency, environmental impact and long-term sustainability.”

That shift reflects both changing market realities and rising global demand for energy across nearly every sector of the economy. From industrial manufacturing and transportation to the rapid expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, the need for reliable and scalable energy sources continues to grow.

In response, engineering education is evolving quickly. Programming skills such as Python and MATLAB are now standard in most curricula, giving students tools to model systems, analyze data and optimize performance. Coursework has also expanded to include sustainable energy systems and life-cycle analysis, which evaluates the full environmental impact of a product or system — from production and transportation to long-term use and disposal.

“We’re training students to look at the entire system,” Kudrashou said. “Not just how to power something, but what it costs in terms of energy, resources and environmental impact.”

Industry partnerships are reinforcing that shift. Advisory boards made up of practicing engineers and technical leaders provide regular feedback on emerging trends, from simulation and modeling tools to evolving software platforms. That collaboration helps ensure graduates enter the workforce with skills aligned to current and future demands.

While academia is focused on the future, manufacturers are dealing with the present. For them, energy costs are not abstract. They are immediate and closely tied to profitability.

For Du-Co Ceramics Company in Saxonburg, energy is used in nearly every step of production.

“Anytime there’s an increase in energy costs, it costs us more to produce our parts,” said CEO Kyle Knapp, who recently stepped into the role after more than 16 years with the company.

Du-Co employs about 120 people and relies on energy-intensive processes, including gas furnaces, electric kilns and automated presses, to manufacture custom technical ceramic components and insulators. Nearly all of its products move through high-temperature firing stages that require significant energy input, limiting flexibility to reduce consumption without altering core operations.

At that point, companies are left with difficult trade-offs.

“We either absorb the lower profit margins or pass that cost along to customers,” Knapp said. “And sometimes, that can even cost us to lose a business.”

The challenge is not just energy use itself, but how quickly it impacts pricing structures. Because energy is consumed in nearly every stage of production, small fluctuations can affect costs almost immediately.

While more efficient technologies exist, they are not always practical. Some alternatives, such as microwave-assisted firing, may reduce energy consumption but do not work well for Du-Co’s parts. In other cases, replacing existing equipment would be prohibitively expensive.

“For now, we just continue to keep an eye out for anything that we can do to improve our energy efficiency,” Knapp said. “But sometimes, it is what it is.”

The impact extends beyond the factory floor. Suppliers facing higher fuel and transportation costs pass those increases along, affecting raw materials and replacement parts. Shipping also plays a role in customer decisions.

“Some of our customers are very price-sensitive,” Knapp said. “Even small increases in price can cause them to shop around.”

In some cases, customers choose closer suppliers simply to reduce shipping costs, particularly for larger or heavier components.

For architecture and engineering firms, the effects of rising energy demand are less direct, but increasingly embedded in how projects are designed and delivered.

Joe Gray, principal at Ashlar Architecture & Engineering in Butler, said energy costs have not yet become a primary driver of design decisions. However, uncertainty in fuel and material markets is beginning to influence planning, particularly with metals like copper, which is heavily used in electrical systems and impacted by energy demand.

Still, the most significant shift is not coming from clients. It is coming from regulation.

“Energy efficiency is largely driven by code now,” Gray said. “It’s not something clients necessarily have to ask for anymore.”

Modern building codes require higher levels of insulation, improved window performance and tighter buildings. As a result, energy efficiency has become the baseline for new construction rather than a differentiator.

“You really start with the code, and then you design for aesthetics and operations,” Gray said.

While this has improved overall efficiency, it has also introduced new layers of complexity.

For example, highly airtight buildings designed to meet efficiency standards often require mechanical ventilation systems to maintain indoor air quality. Those systems can include energy recovery units that condition incoming air, adding both cost and engineering complexity.

“So it’s kind of counterproductive in a way,” Gray said. “It used to be that your house breathed to a certain degree, and now we make them so tight you have to artificially bring fresh air in.”

At the same time, firms are facing another challenge: a shortage of skilled labor.

“Labor has become a bigger cost than materials on many projects,” Gray said.

As experienced tradespeople retire, fewer workers are entering the field to replace them. That gap is reshaping how projects are executed and designed.

Increasingly, firms are turning to systems that are easier to install and require less-specialized labor, often described as “plug-and-play” solutions. While these systems can improve efficiency and reduce dependency on scarce labor, they also reflect a broader evolution in how construction work is performed.

“We’re seeing more systems that are designed to be installed quickly and with less training,” Gray said.

Despite those challenges, there is a shared expectation across sectors that adaptation will continue.

Educational institutions are producing engineers with broader skill sets and a deeper understanding of energy systems. Manufacturers are monitoring new technologies that could improve efficiency without compromising performance. Engineering and design firms are incorporating increasingly stringent standards into their baseline work.

Each sector is moving at its own pace, but all are responding to the same underlying reality: Energy is becoming more central to how projects are conceived, executed and evaluated.

How effectively those responses align across education, industry and design may ultimately determine how well the engineering field meets the demands of a rapidly changing energy landscape.

This article first appeared in the May edition of Butler County Business Matters.