1/27/2025
After taking office in late January, President Donald Trump promised to increase coal combustion, a reliable but polluting energy source that had recently been in decline. Trump declared an energy emergency, and proposed to “drill, baby, drill” to help meet the surging demand for electricity required by massive AI data centers.
President Trump informed the World Economic Forum that “Nothing can destroy coal. Not the weather, not a bomb — nothing. And we have more coal than anybody.” However, energy experts say that any future spikes in coal combustion are likely to be temporary, as a market for renewable energy will persist no matter who holds the White House. As economics professor Rob Godby stated, it’s been “shown over the last three administrations that even the president of the United States can’t change markets.”
Electricity demand in the U.S. has plateaued in the past 15 years, but increases in manufacturing, electric vehicles, and computing centers necessary for artificial intelligence may strain the system. Electricity demand for AI data centers is projected to increase 10-20% through 2030. Solar cells, batteries, and semiconductors, will also need additional power for manufacturing. While the tech industry can quickly churn out new products to meet changing demand, power plants and transmission lines often take decades of planning. As Godby states, it’s “difficult for utilities to make investment decisions in four-year windows.”
Despite these challenges, Trump issued executive orders prioritizing energy development and lifting regulations that have minimized fossil fuel emission. Eventually, these executive orders could expand to repeal power plant pollution regulations and could also end policies supporting renewable energy.
While environmentalists may cringe at the implications of increasing coal combustion, supporters welcome the shift. Unlike solar and wind energy that are highly contingent on weather, coal-fired electricity runs around the clock with very limited periods of downtime. Although this nonstop power may meet the needs of technological facilities, it takes a long time for new coal plants to become operational and even while active, they aren’t suitable sources of backup power. Additionally, analyst Dan Thompson notes that the companies driving the data center boom are the biggest corporate purchasers of renewable power and have made commitments to reach carbon neutrality.
One possible source of renewable energy is geothermal. Energy experts state that geothermal energy uses the same technology for drilling wells as the oil and gas industry. Like coal, it can produce electricity around the clock. Geothermal energy even carries bipartisan support in Congress. As Marathon Capital director Alex Kania states, geothermal energy is reliable, and efficient with “ties to the more conventional forms of energy production” that are “not lost on some people.”
Despite President Trump’s support of coal, the energy required to power the tech industry must be renewable. Thus, geothermal energy has the potential to mitigate the rising energy demand from AI data centers. This shows that a future of renewable energy is possible and more economically viable than a return to coal plants.