The U.S. data center industry says President Donald Trump’s new clampdown on renewable energy could slow its rapid expansion and threaten Washington’s bid to stay ahead of China in the race to dominate artificial intelligence.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has frozen several clean power projects on federal land, halted government loans, and in April, scrapped Equinor’s planned $5 billion Empire Wind site.
Wind and solar have suddenly become a political flashpoint.
Technology companies that run huge computer farms need steady, cheap electricity to train AI models. Analysts warn that choking off wind and solar could tighten the power supply, lift costs, and push operators toward fossil fuel-based energy sources
“It may become impossible to satisfy the data growth that’s happening,” said Simon Ninan, senior vice-president at equipment supplier Hitachi Vantara. He called the administration’s stance “antagonistic” and a direct threat to the sector.
Ninan added that the policy U-turn risks “undermining” America’s lead in AI, while “China … has taken a proactive approach toward grid modernisation.” If shortages persist, he cautioned, some planned server farms “could be cancelled or delayed.”
The president says beating China on AI matters more than environmental concerns like global warming and backs more fossil fuel-based energy. Critics counter that only renewables, which are quicker and cheaper to build than gas plants, can keep up with surging data center demand.
The assault on green energy has alarmed leaders in the north-east, who had been counting on offshore wind to meet rising electricity needs. On Monday, a coalition of 17 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration to stop the freeze on wind development.
Data centers have high energy demands
The Center for Strategic and International Studies forecasts an extra 83.7 gigawatts of demand by 2030 — like grafting an entire Texas onto the national grid. Many firms are exploring small modular nuclear reactors, but those plants are still years away.
“We’ve seen increased competition for green energy over the last couple of years,” said Nick Hertlein, a managing director at infrastructure investor Stonepeak. “If U.S. AI development is a priority, policymakers need to find ways to accommodate the industry’s growth.”
Major grid operators — PJM, MISO, and Texas-based ERCOT — are fast-tracking large gas plants, but that comes at the expense of renewable sources that are much cheaper. Suppliers Siemens and GE Vernova warn that delivery times for larger gas turbines now stretch to 2029.
“If we can’t bring on new, lower-cost resources when demand is increasing, we’ll have to rely more and more on higher-cost ones,” said Rich Powell, chief executive of the Clean Energy Buyers Association. “We just need to flood the zone with new electricity as quickly as we can.”
Large tech groups may sway Washington to relax rules on new power, Mr Ninan said. Smaller operators lack that pull and are waiting while permits are stuck, and tariffs raise the price of wind and solar gear. “They may end up using dirtier sources,” he warned.
Amazon, the biggest corporate buyer of renewables, argues that carbon-free power keeps bills low. “Some deals were no-brainers because they cut our costs,” said Kevin Miller, vice-president of Global Data Centers at Amazon Web Services.
State proposals could add more hurdles
In Texas, the nation’s third-largest data center market after Virginia, lawmakers are debating bills that would tighten rules on wind and solar farms. “Any of these bills passing would kill that in the crib,” said Doug Lewin, president of consultancy Stoic Energy.
For “hyperscale” data centers from companies such as Equinix, Microsoft, Google, and Meta, the crackdown will make it harder to offset emissions and lock in green supply deals. “Demand has reached an all-time high,” said Equinix’s sustainability vice-president Christopher Wellise. “When you add more constraints, we’re going to face near- to mid-term challenges.”
With AI data center power needs rising and clean projects on hold, executives and analysts say Washington now risks trading a short-term political win for a long-term strategic loss.
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This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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