Power for AI at any cost is the White House’s new rallying cry

Trump declares energy emergency to speed up power plants for AI, prioritizing speed over sustainability and reigniting debate over coal use

President Donald Trump said on Thursday (23) that he will accelerate the construction of power plants for artificial intelligence through an emergency declaration, as the United States competes with China for leadership in the sector.

“We are going to build electricity generation facilities. I will get approval under emergency declaration. I can get the approvals on my own without having to wait years,” Trump said in a virtual speech to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Plants will be able to use any type of fuel they want, the president said, making it clear that his administration will not impose climate targets on the artificial intelligence industry. Trump has suggested that power plants use coal as an emergency power source.

“There are some companies in the US that have coal stored close to their plants, so that, in case of an emergency, they can turn to it,” said the president.

According to CNBC, Trump declared a national energy emergency on the first day of his term, ordering federal agencies to use all available emergency authorizations to accelerate energy infrastructure projects.

A day later, Trump announced a partnership with OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank to invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence infrastructure through a project called Stargate.

The energy demand of artificial intelligence data centers is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. The technology companies building these centers have prioritized sourcing renewable energy, although they are showing increasing interest in nuclear power to meet their growing electrical needs.

As the technology sector invests in carbon-free energy to meet its climate goals, analysts believe natural gas will play a crucial role in powering artificial intelligence as it is abundant, more reliable than renewables and can be deployed more faster than nuclear energy.

Trump has said he wants power plants to connect directly to data centers rather than supplying electricity through the power grid.

“You don’t need to connect to the network, which is old and can fail,” Trump said. This arrangement, called co-location, faces opposition from some utilities, who fear losing revenue and warn that removing power from the grid could lead to supply shortages.