The Trump administration released its AI vision infrastructure in the US last week. It's a dream for the fossil fuel and chemical industries, and a nightmare for wind, solar and the environment.
“AI Action Planand the flurry of executive orders signed by Donald Trump last week read like manifestos for artificial intelligence. less “woke” And less regulated. They are filled with head-scratching proposals to destroy the foundations of environmental protection in the United States, as well as incentives for companies to build new data centers, power plants, pipelines and computer chip factories as quickly as possible.
It's deregulation and massive bailouts of fossil fuels, all in the name of AI.
What the AI plan really is is to “use unprecedented emergency powers provide huge new incentives for data centers and fossil fuel infrastructure in particular, says Tyson Slocum, energy program director for the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen. “I think they are sincerely interested in meeting the priorities of the big tech companies.” But this is an opportunity to align their priorities with Big Oil.”
“This is an opportunity to connect their priorities with Big Oil.”
Data centers are notoriously energy-hungry, which has already led to splash new gas projects designed to meet growing demand. But many tech companies have sustainability commitments they have pledged to meet by using renewable energy, and because wind and solar power plants have generally become cheaper and easier to build than fossil fuel power plants, they have become the fastest-growing sources of new electricity in the United States. Now Trump wants to turn that on its head.
He signed decree July 23rd meant “accelerate[e] federal authorization for data center infrastructure.” It directs the Commerce Secretary to “launch an initiative to provide financial support” to data centers and related infrastructure projects. This could include loans, grants and tax breaks for energy infrastructure, but not for solar and wind power. The order describes “covered components” as “gas turbines, coal power equipment, nuclear power equipment, geothermal power equipment” and any other sources of electricity considered “controlled” To be considered controllable, operators must be able to increase and decrease power generation at will, so this rules out intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, which naturally fluctuate with the weather and time of day.
Trump's AI planning document also says the administration will prioritize deployment of dispatchable energy sources and that “we will continue to reject radical climate dogma.” Trump has already dealt devastating blows to solar and wind energy projects. tariff increase And Biden-era tax credit cuts for renewable energy. The AI executive order goes further, increasing dependence on fossil fuels and making it difficult for new solar and wind powered data centers to operate.
“Currently, you are not eligible for expedited consideration if your data center project uses wind and solar panels. These are excluded from the preferential treatment,” Slocum says. “So what's the message to the market? Don't rely on wind and solar.”
This is not only unsafe for the environment, but also ineffective given the current situation. gas turbine backlog and since fossil fuel plants tend to slower and more expensive to build than onshore wind and solar power plants. “This is not an energy abundance program. This is an energy idiot program,” adds Slocum.
The Trump administration wants to speed up the process by rewriting fundamental environmental laws. Trump, the ever-disgruntled real estate mogul, opposed environmental reviews he says it takes too long and costs too much. He was already working on roll back dozens of environmental standards from the moment of taking office. The executive order now directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to change regulations under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Superfund Act, and Toxic Substances Control Act to speed up permitting for data center projects.
“This is terrible… These [laws] protect our public health. They protect our children. They protect the air we breathe and the water we drink,” says Judith Barish, director of CHIPS Communities United, a national coalition of labor and environmental groups.
“This is the program of an energy idiot.”
The coalition has come together to fight for the protection of chip manufacturing workers and surrounding communities. Semiconductor manufacturing has a long history. leaching of harmful chemicals And exposing employees to reproductive health toxins. As a result, Santa Clara, California, home to Silicon Valley, has more toxic Superfund sites than any other county in the United States. The coalition wants to prevent history from repeating itself as the US tries to revive domestic chip production and dominate the artificial intelligence market.
AI requires more powerful chips, and Trump's executive order speeding up federal permitting for data center projects includes semiconductors and “semiconductor materials.” Barish says that “a chip plant is a chemical plant,” since semiconductor manufacturers use all the industrial solvents and other chemicals. This includes “forever chemicals“, why the Trump administration began to loosen rules regarding permissible levels in drinking water. Companies including 3M and Dupont have seen sharp declines trials over perennial chemicals linked to cancer, reproductive risks, liver damage and other health problems, and subsequently committed to phase out or phasing out chemicals. Now manufacturers Seize the opportunity to produce more chemicals to feed the artificial intelligence craze.
Ironically, we could see data centers and associated infrastructure popping up on the contaminated Superfund sites that Silicon Valley has already left in its wake. Trump's executive order directs the Environmental Protection Agency to identify contaminated Superfund And Brownfield sites that could be reused for new data center projects (and directs other agencies to scour military installations and federal lands for suitable sites).
Office buildings are already located on or near old Superfund sites where cleanup is ongoing; Google employees were exposed to toxic fumes rising from Superfund site under their office back in 2013. Since complete site restoration can take decades, control is key. “Superfund sites in particular are the most contaminated sites in the country, and it is important that comprehensive testing be done for both the people who will work at the sites and the people who surround them,” says Jennifer Liss Ohayon, a researcher at the Silent Spring Institute who has studied the remediation of Superfund sites.
But Trump wants to loosen oversight of new data center projects that receive federal support, adding: “categorical exceptions» to typical Evaluation of the National Environmental Policy Act. Environmental reviews that are carried out may also be limited lack of people power in federal agencies the Trump administration chopped into pieces, including the Environmental Protection Agency.
“America needs new data centers, new semiconductor and chip factories, new power plants and transmission lines,” Trump said before signing his executive orders on artificial intelligence last week. “Under my leadership, we're going to get this job done, and it's going to be done with confidence, with the environment in mind and all the things we have to do to get it done properly.” Good luck.
