American Power investigates notions of power, both electrical and political. Who has it, what do they do with it, and how does it affect other people? From 2003 to 2008, I traveled across the United States to photograph in and around sites where fossil fuel, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, solar, and other alternative power are produced. The resulting pictures form a portrait of the United States as it clings to past comforts and gropes for a more sensible future. American Power underscores the intersection between energy production, energy consumption, and climate change. In short, I hope to illuminate the relationship between American society and the American landscape.

American Power is also about the deepening of my political convictions. While making this body of work, I encountered Homeland Security obstacles, environmental contamination, corporate impenetrability, and a culture of excess. These experiences turned my initial curiosity into rage and sadness. American Power has led me to think harder about the artist’s role in a country teetering between collapse and transformation. - Mitch Epstein