Trump says he will approve power plants for AI through emergency declaration

President Donald Trump said Thursday he will approve the construction of power plants for artificial intelligence through an emergency declaration.

“We’re going to build electric generating facilities. I’m going to get the approval under emergency declaration. I can get the approvals done myself without having to go through years of waiting,” Trump said in a virtual address to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Trump said the plants can use whatever fuel they want, including coal as a backup.

Power demand from artificial intelligence data centers is forecast to surge in the coming years. The tech companies building the centers that support AI have primarily focused on procuring renewable energy, though they have shown a growing interest in nuclear power to meet their growin energy needs.

But analysts believe natural gas will play a pivotal role, at least in the short- to-medium term because it’s in plentiful supply, is more reliable than renewables and can be deployed much faster than nuclear.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.