AI giants promise Trump to pay for increased energy needs

Seven US tech giants at the forefront of artificial intelligence committed Wednesday to offset the costs of their increased electricity needs through investments in energy infrastructure.

To develop and use AI, the main players in the sector use data centres, whose chips and servers consume a lot of electricity.

But installed energy capacity is not growing as fast as demand, which has led to a sharp rise in electricity prices in many parts of the United States, a phenomenon that has become a campaign issue in the run-up to the November midterm elections.

The tech companies promised to finance new capacity when a centre is built and to cover any costs of upgrading the grid.

Data centres accounted for 4.4 percent of total electricity consumption in the United States in 2023, according to the Department of Energy, which predicts that the proportion could reach as much as 12.0 percent by 2028.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that Google, Microsoft, Meta, Oracle, xAI, OpenAI, and Amazon had agreed to the five principles of its plans to make the installation of new data centres a benefit to all.

US President Donald Trump “is ensuring that data centres address affordability and benefit ALL American households and businesses,” the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy said in a post on X.

“Although electricity demand is increasing, Americans won’t be footing the bill,” it added.

The programme also includes initiatives to recruit from local populations and offer training.