That empty land would allow for some nice desert crossings. Empty land is easier to develop and you can go faster.
I'm imagine a donut with at least 2 dessert lines but maybe more. Likely a terminal town would appear in the center of the continent to be used for transfers
https://californiapolicycenter.org/how-much-fossil-fuel-is-left/
Sure it only makes up about 80% of global power production.
Every other use is minimal comparatively