AI needs massive power surge, says Trump
Washington, Feb 11 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) President Donald Trump said the United States is allowing private companies to build their own power plants to meet what he described as massive electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence.
In an interview with Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow, Trump said AI infrastructure requires unprecedented energy capacity.
“AI, for whatever reason, needs massive amounts of electricity, right? More electricity than the entire country produces right now by double,” he said.
Trump said the national grid cannot be rebuilt overnight to handle that demand. As a result, he said his administration is permitting companies constructing large facilities to generate their own power.
“I’m letting everybody that builds a plant build their own electric plant,” he said. “They’re gonna become like a utility.”
He said developers are constructing large-scale facilities and will operate independent generating systems. “They’re building their own electricity. They’re producing their own electricity,” Trump said.
Any surplus power would be sold back to the system. “Anything they have left over, they’ll sell it into the grid,” he added.
Trump said energy sources could vary depending on project needs. “Some are nuclear, some are oil and gas, some are coal as a backup,” he said.
He also argued that the United States is ahead in the global AI race. “We are dominating everybody in the AI,” Trump said.
Trump linked the AI push to broader industrial expansion, saying large-scale construction is underway across the country. “We have $18 trillion invested in this country. Nobody’s ever had anything like it,” he said.
He described factory and plant construction as central to his economic strategy. “We’re building a record number in history. There’s never been anything like it,” Trump said.
Trump has consistently tied manufacturing, energy production, and technology development together in his economic messaging, arguing that domestic production reduces dependence on foreign supply chains.
Artificial intelligence infrastructure, including data centers and semiconductor facilities, is widely expected to significantly increase electricity demand in the coming decade. Governments across major economies are weighing grid upgrades, nuclear expansion, and renewable deployment to support AI-driven growth.
India is also expanding its AI and semiconductor ecosystem, with policymakers closely watching global models for powering large-scale data infrastructure while balancing energy security, climate commitments, and industrial competitiveness.
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