Trump pushes coal-powered AI, putting pressure on tech giants
The post Trump pushes coal-powered AI, putting pressure on tech giants appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com. President Donald Trump plans to have Big Tech corporations use coal to power their data centres. In April, he issued an executive order asking his cabinet to identify coal-powered infrastructure that could support AI data centres and assess whether they can meet the energy demands of tech firms. Earlier in January, he also explained to the World Economic Forum that he would greenlight power plants for AI under an emergency order and encourage tech companies to use coal as a secondary energy source. Some tech industry leaders acknowledge they need fossil fuels to meet their energy demands According to the Energy Information Administration, coal emits more carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour than any other energy source. Thus, the tech industry has been investing more in renewable energy to maintain sustainability goals and reduce emissions. Nevertheless, tech companies’ new preference for renewable sources cost the coal industry greatly, with a number of coal plants already abandoned in the United States. In 2023, roughly 16% of electricity came from burning coal, down from 51% in 2001. However, Trump’s push for expansive coal use could change the downturn in statistics and prove productive for coal miners. Peabody Energy CEO James Grech, who attended Trump’s executive order ceremony at the White House, believes that coal plants can meet the nation’s electricity demands, including data centres’ energy needs. He argued that coal plants only supply about 42% of their maximum capacity at the moment and should augment the amount of power produced. Grech added, “We believe that all coal-powered generators need to defer US coal plant retirements as the situation on the ground has clearly changed. We believe generators should un-retire coal plants that have recently been mothballed.” Some in the tech industry have also recognised the need for fossil fuel to meet their AI…
The post Trump pushes coal-powered AI, putting pressure on tech giants appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
President Donald Trump plans to have Big Tech corporations use coal to power their data centres. In April, he issued an executive order asking his cabinet to identify coal-powered infrastructure that could support AI data centres and assess whether they can meet the energy demands of tech firms. Earlier in January, he also explained to the World Economic Forum that he would greenlight power plants for AI under an emergency order and encourage tech companies to use coal as a secondary energy source. Some tech industry leaders acknowledge they need fossil fuels to meet their energy demands According to the Energy Information Administration, coal emits more carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour than any other energy source. Thus, the tech industry has been investing more in renewable energy to maintain sustainability goals and reduce emissions. Nevertheless, tech companies’ new preference for renewable sources cost the coal industry greatly, with a number of coal plants already abandoned in the United States. In 2023, roughly 16% of electricity came from burning coal, down from 51% in 2001. However, Trump’s push for expansive coal use could change the downturn in statistics and prove productive for coal miners. Peabody Energy CEO James Grech, who attended Trump’s executive order ceremony at the White House, believes that coal plants can meet the nation’s electricity demands, including data centres’ energy needs. He argued that coal plants only supply about 42% of their maximum capacity at the moment and should augment the amount of power produced. Grech added, “We believe that all coal-powered generators need to defer US coal plant retirements as the situation on the ground has clearly changed. We believe generators should un-retire coal plants that have recently been mothballed.” Some in the tech industry have also recognised the need for fossil fuel to meet their AI…
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