Trump Orders AI Data Centers to Build Gas Plants Because Clean Energy is Too Mainstream
KEY POINTS
- ā¢President Trump announced a mandate at the 2026 State of the Union for data centers to build private power plants.
- ā¢Tech giants including Meta, OpenAI, and Microsoft plan mostly natural gas-powered on-site plants to avoid utility delays and rate hikes.
- ā¢Texas is leading the race among states with over one-third of on-site power builds as AI demand drives record electricity use.
In a dazzling display of power-move irony, President Donald Trump announced at the 2026 State of the Union that AI data centers must supply their own electricityāpreferably with on-site power plants fueled mainly by natural gas. Not to be outdone, 46 projects, including Meta in Ohio and OpenAI in New Mexico, are retrofitting their data hubs with fossil-fuel furnaces, sidestepping utilities demanding a staggering $31 billion in rate hikes across states like Texas and Virginia. Meanwhile, Elon Muskās xAI division ignited controversy by deploying unpermitted mobile generators in Tennessee and Mississippiāa bold 'grid-free' debut. Tech giants Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI promised to shield consumers from bill shocks, though their 'clean energy' often means wielding giant natural gas machines disguised as eco-ambassadors. And Texas, now outpacing Virginia, is sprinting to become Data Center Central, churning AI while shepherding gas-fired dreams. Because when AI booms, what's cleaner than pretending pollution doesn't exist?
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Trumpās solution to AIās power hunger? Build more natural gas plants right next to servers and pray the planet forgives us all. Weāre basically turbocharging climate irony while tech promises 'clean energy' with a side of fossil fuel. Genius.
Building private natural gas plants for AI centers is like buying organic kale chips while dumping your fries in dieselāpure #GreenwashedGenious.
Elon Muskās unpermitted mobile power gen tour across Tennessee says: who needs permissions when youāre lighting up AI faster than common sense?
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 2/25/2026 | Author: Ellen Thomas
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