{"id":11577778,"date":"2025-07-24T17:55:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T21:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11577778&preview=true&preview_id=11577778"},"modified":"2025-07-24T18:02:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T22:02:29","slug":"trump-ai-plan-data-centers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/24\/trump-ai-plan-data-centers\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s AI plan calls for massive data centers. Here\u2019s how it may affect energy in the US"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALEXA ST. JOHN, Associated Press<\/strong><\/p>\n

President Donald Trump\u2019s plan to boost artificial intelligence and build data centers<\/a> across the U.S. could speed up a building boom that was already expected to strain the nation\u2019s ability to power it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The White House released the \u201cAI Action Plan\u201d<\/a> Wednesday, vowing to expedite permitting for construction of energy-intensive data centers as it looks to make the country a leader in a business that tech companies and others are pouring billions of dollars into.<\/p>\n

The plan says to combat \u201cradical climate dogma,\u201d a number of restrictions \u2014 including clean air and water laws \u2014 could be lifted, aligning with Trump\u2019s \u201cAmerican energy dominance\u201d agenda and his efforts to undercut clean energy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/p>\n

What AI means for the environment<\/h4>\n

Massive amounts of electricity are needed to support the complex servers, equipment and more for AI<\/a>. Electricity demand from data centers worldwide is set to more than double by 2030, to slightly more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan today, the International Energy Agency said earlier this year.<\/p>\n

In many cases, that electricity may come from burning coal or natural gas. These fossil fuels emit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and methane. This in turn is tied to extreme weather<\/a> events that are becoming more severe, frequent and costly.<\/p>\n

The data centers used to fuel AI also need a tremendous amount of water to keep cool. That means they can strain water sources in areas that may have little to spare.<\/p>\n

What Big Tech is saying and doing about finding all that power<\/h4>\n

Typically, tech giants, up-and-comers and other developers try to keep an existing power plant online to meet demand, experts say, and most existing power plants in the U.S. are still producing electricity using fossil fuels \u2014 most often natural gas.<\/p>\n

In certain areas of the U.S., a combination of renewables and energy storage in the form of batteries are coming online.<\/p>\n

But tapping into nuclear power is especially of interest<\/a> as a way to reduce data center-induced emissions while still meeting demand and staying competitive.<\/p>\n

Amazon said last month it would spend $20 billion<\/a> on data center sites in Pennsylvania, including one alongside a nuclear power plant. The investment allows Amazon to plug right into the plant, a scrutinized but faster approach for the company\u2019s development timeline.<\/p>\n

Meta recently signed a deal<\/a> to secure nuclear power to meet its computing needs. Microsoft plans to buy energy from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant<\/a>, and Google<\/a> previously signed a contract to purchase it<\/a> from multiple small modular reactors in the works.<\/p>\n