[By Guancha Observer Network, Qi Qian] On local time April 8th, US President Trump signed an executive order aimed at increasing coal production.

Reuters commented that this is the latest measure of Trump going against global emission reduction efforts, and since he took office, he has been trying to relax energy and environmental regulations. Due to the growth of high-energy-consuming data centers such as artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, and cryptocurrencies, US electricity demand rose for the first time in twenty years.

"We are restoring an abandoned industry," Trump said in front of more than thirty miners wearing safety helmets at the White House. "We will get miners back to work." He called coal a "beautiful, clean" energy source.

Trump also said, "We need AI and all the new technologies coming online. Therefore, we need twice the amount of energy and electricity compared to now."

On April 8th, Trump signed the executive order aiming to revitalize the US coal industry - video screenshot.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration shows that due to hydraulic fracturing and other drilling technologies increasing natural gas production, coal-fired power plants account for less than 20% of total US electricity generation, significantly down from 50% in the year 2000. At the same time, the growth of solar and wind energy has reduced coal usage. The number of American miners has also plummeted from 70,000 ten years ago to about 40,000.

It was introduced that the measures in the latest executive order include saving coal-fired power plants that may be retired, allowing private companies to purchase coal mining rights on federal land, and instructing Energy Secretary Chris Wright to determine whether coal used for steel production is considered a "critical mineral." Additionally, the US Department of Energy provided $200 billion in financing, including for new coal technologies.

In response to this executive order by Trump aimed at revitalizing the coal industry, opinions within the United States are divided.

Supporters believe that through deregulation and other measures, the US coal industry can increase power supply. Rich Nolan, president and CEO of the American National Mining Association, said that this move will "clearly prioritize how to responsibly maintain power supply, recognize the great strategic value of US coal mining, and seize economic opportunities brought by abundant US energy."

However, environmental organizations harshly criticized Trump's coal plan. Kit Kennedy, head of electricity at the international environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council, said: "Coal-fired power plants are old and dirty, uncompetitive and unreliable. The Trump administration is stuck in the past, trying to make utility customers pay more for past energy sources. Instead, the US should do everything possible to build the future grid."

Some analysts also pointed out that a large-scale revival of the US coal industry is unlikely.

"The main issue is that most of our coal-fired power plants are old, with increasingly higher operating costs, and no one is considering building new ones," said Seth Feist, a data analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, a US research company. "This move by Trump is unlikely to change this trajectory." It was reported that the operating costs of coal-fired power plants in the US are much higher than those of natural gas, wind, and solar power plants.

Reuters mentioned that coal is considered the dirtiest fossil fuel and historically the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Burning coal releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is a major cause of global warming, while also emitting pollutants related to lung disease and heart disease. Coal-fired power generates more than twice as much carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour as gas-fired power plants.

American NBC cited the latest poll, indicating that revitalizing the coal industry goes against the priorities of most Americans. The survey found that two-thirds of Americans support energy transition, and as many as 74% support regulating carbon dioxide pollutants.

NBC also mentioned that the rise of emerging technologies like AI has increased US electricity demand, with some tech professionals calling for greater investment to increase power supply. Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs predicted that the expansion of AI data centers would increase global electricity demand by 165% over the next five years.

But previous media reports in the US pointed out that under this background, the government should prioritize updating aging grids rather than coal-fired power generation.

US media claims that the aging grid in the US cannot cope with the growing load of AI - US media material image.

Last September, Daniela Rus, a scholar at MIT, and Nico Enriquez, a former analyst at the US Department of Energy, wrote in The Washington Post, calling on the US government to accelerate the modernization of aging grids, as "the US may not be able to match China's centralized energy system" in the current situation of AI's massive power consumption. They said, "We must learn from China and establish national high-voltage transmission corridors."

The article mentioned that the current US power transmission system has over a century of history, pieced together by 3,200 local and regional public utilities across the country, and even struggles to handle existing electrical loads. Therefore, before using the most advanced microchips and running the most advanced AI models, the US needs interstate transmission corridors to transmit sufficient and reliable power to data centers.

"The aging grid in the US cannot cope with the growing load of AI," the article stated, these "ultra-large" data center parks typically need to be located in densely populated areas or nearby regions, where "our grid has already reached its limit."

In addition, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and other technology companies' development of AI has caused a surge in power consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, drawing criticism from numerous media outlets and environmental organizations. Last July, US media NPR pointed out that these large companies have become major drivers of climate change. Some scholars said that unless strict intervention measures are taken, AI will only make environmental problems worse.

This article is an exclusive article by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7491104333497369122/

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