Trump wants coal to power AI data centers

5 melling 4 5/18/2025, 8:03:23 AM cnbc.com ↗

Comments (4)

toomuchtodo · 1h ago
These data centers should just be built in Illinois, which has the largest population of existing commercial nuclear generators today. New generation will be wind, solar, and batteries to backfill current nuclear generator if allocated to data centers.

https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=IL

artski · 10h ago
Yeah I think the world is screwed. These aren't things you can shut down instantly without losing a bunch of money/the time not spent building better alternatives - all these projects have long lead times.
bediger4000 · 6h ago
Does this mean Trump has a deal with coal mining concerns, or does he have direct interest, like owning a coal mining company?
tocs3 · 4h ago
I suspect it is more like he promised more coal and saying something like

“They can fuel it with anything they want, and they may have coal as a backup — good, clean coal,”

is his way of making good on the promise.