Trump Proposes More Coal Plants to Bolster AI

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Washington, D.C. - Today, Donald Trump proposed fast-tracking power plant approvals to benefit Big Tech companies and their massive need for electricity to power artificial intelligence facilities.

This proposal would boost profits for large technology companies such as Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and more, while putting local communities at risk if large polluting power plants are fast-tracked without adequate review.  

Trump acknowledges that the current electricity grid is “old and can be taken out,” but instead of proposing upgrades to strengthen the grid and add transmission lines, he wants to roll back the critical infrastructure investments President Biden made and build new coal plants dedicated to powering data centers. 

In the last two decades, nearly 75 percent of all coal plants across the country have been retired or are scheduled to retire, and last year, renewable energy production outpaced coal. 

In response, Sierra Club Chief Campaign Officer Holly Bender issued the following statement:

“No one has built a new coal-fired power plant in over a decade, and Trump’s statement today just shows how out of touch he is with the hard and important work of building a modern grid.  Coal is expensive and dirty. Fast-tracking new coal plants serves the wealthy few at the expense of families that bear the burden of dangerous and dirty air.  

“President Trump promised to bail out the coal industry in 2016, and during his first term coal plant retirements actually accelerated because people everywhere stood up and demanded clean energy. Americans know that coal is dangerous, expensive, and unreliable, and the tech companies know that, too. The Sierra Club has worked tirelessly to retire coal plants because we know there are healthier, cheaper, and more reliable options than coal, and today’s statements won’t change our work to continue to put communities first in the energy transition.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.