Donald Trump has signed an executive order to increase American coal production to fuel AI data centres.
As part of the order, the Commerce, Energy and Interior Departments have been instructed to study where coal-powered infrastructure could support AI data centres and to determine whether this would be economically viable.
The former CEOs of Google and Micron Technology and the CEO of Scale AI testified to Congress on Wednesday that the AI industry requires substantial and reliable energy supplies, “renewable or non-renewable”.
America’s increasing adoption of AI technology is likely to create a significant demand for power to support related infrastructure.
A study from the Electric Power Research Institute has indicated that data centres could consume as much as 9.1% of all US energy by the end of the decade.