President-elect Donald Trump’s enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptocurrencies may inadvertently bolster the clean energy sector, despite his long-standing criticism of renewable energy initiatives.
The vast energy demands of AI data centers and cryptocurrency mining operations are driving an urgent need for power generation from all sources, including solar and wind, according to industry executives. These data centers, some requiring as much electricity as a midsize city, are straining the grid, prompting calls for a diverse energy strategy.
“We already don’t have enough electricity to meet the demands of these server farms, whether it’s AI or crypto,” said Senator Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican who has discussed energy strategy with Trump and his team. Cramer supports Doug Burgum, Trump’s nominee for interior secretary and head of the White House’s National Energy Council, emphasizing the need for a mix of fossil fuels and renewable energy.
Renewable Energy Poised to Meet Growing Demand
Natural gas and renewables remain the primary sources of new electricity generation, with solar and wind projects offering the quickest route to meet surging demand. Utility executives have noted that while nuclear power could play a role, constructing new plants could take over a decade.
“Renewables are poised to supply immediately what no one else can do, and that growth will be explosive,” said Sheldon Kimber, CEO of renewable-energy developer Intersect Power.
Intersect Power recently partnered with Google and investment firm TPG to invest in renewable power and battery storage for data centers, targeting $20 billion in investments by 2030. Technology giants like Google and Microsoft are also investing billions in zero-carbon energy sources, including nuclear and geothermal, as part of their pledges to reduce carbon emissions.
Chase Lochmiller, CEO of Crusoe, a startup developing clean energy solutions for data centers, stated, “The demand swell that’s unfolding is really going to push and advance a lot of clean-energy technologies.” Crusoe has secured $600 million in funding from investors including Nvidia and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund.
Policy and Market Forces at Play
Trump’s energy policies could inadvertently fuel clean energy investments. While he has pledged to withdraw from the Paris climate accord and repeal Biden’s 2022 climate law, which has bipartisan support, his proposals to accelerate permitting for large-scale investments could benefit renewable energy projects, such as transmission lines and wind farms.
OpenAI has also released an “infrastructure blueprint” advocating streamlined permitting for solar, wind, and nuclear projects, alongside measures to expedite transmission and gas pipeline construction. Energy executives, such as Shashank Sane of Invenergy, have emphasized the importance of such projects.
Invenergy is currently working on a major transmission project to transport wind and solar power from Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana. The Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office has committed nearly $5 billion to the project’s first phase.
As Trump positions AI and cryptocurrency as critical to America’s competitiveness, the clean energy sector may find itself an unintended beneficiary of his administration’s push for increased energy production and infrastructure development.
