On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to establish the "National Energy Dominance Council," an initiative aimed at ensuring the country meets the vast electricity demands required to compete in the artificial intelligence (AI) arms race with China.
During the signing, Trump emphasized the importance of energy production, stating, "We're going to be energy dominant like nobody else, and this doesn't even discuss all of the electricity that we're going to be producing for all of the AI plants." He noted that AI data centers alone could require twice the current electricity supply to function efficiently.
Trump's Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, echoed these concerns, warning that the U.S. must drastically increase its power output to stay ahead of China in the AI race. The council's primary role will be to coordinate energy policy across federal agencies while expediting the permitting, production, and distribution of energy resources.
This initiative aligns with Trump’s broader policy to boost domestic oil and gas production, moving away from concerns about carbon emissions raised under the Biden administration. Analysts believe the move is also intended to counter potential economic repercussions of Trump's trade policies, which could result in higher energy costs due to tariffs on imports and exports.
The energy needs of the AI industry are rapidly growing, with data centers already straining the nation's aging electrical grid. Experts estimate that by 2028, AI-related energy demands could reach five gigawatts—enough to power approximately five million homes. Tech industry leaders have been lobbying the administration to prioritize infrastructure investments to meet these increasing demands.