President Donald Trump plans for large tech corporations to use coal to power their data centers.
In April, he issued an executive order asking his cabinet to identify coal-fed infrastructure that could support AI data centers and assess whether they can meet the energy demands of tech companies.
In early January, he also explained to the World Economic Forum that he would greenlight power plants for AI under an emergency decree and encourage tech companies to use coal as a secondary energy source.
Some leaders in the tech industry acknowledge that they need fossil fuels to meet their energy demands.
According to the Energy Information Administration, coal emits more carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour than any other energy source. Thus, the tech industry has been investing more in renewable energy to maintain sustainability goals and reduce emissions.
However, the new preference of tech companies for renewable sources has cost the coal industry dearly, with a number of coal plants already abandoned in the United States.