The city also is a hub for the natural gas industry due to the location of the Marcellus and Utica shale players deep underground. Trump has promised to accelerate natural gas, oil and nuclear energy production during his administration.
The rush to lead the global race in AI and data center computing is creating a power challenge for the U.S. utilities and grid. Some forecasts are predicting a tripling of data center load by close to 120 GW within a decade.
Tech Giants Rushing in to Buy up Generation Capacity
The proposed $70 billion
Trump AI and Energy Initiative, which was unveiled at the Carnegie Mellon event, promises to intersect data center expansion needs with new and redeveloped energy resources.
"AI infrastructure has become a national priority, and the energy systems required to support it must evolve just as quickly," Syed Bahauddin Alam, assistant professor of nuclear engineering and radiation science at the University of Illinois' Grainger College of Engineering, said in a response to questions from sister publication EnergyTech.
"Advanced reactors are well suited to this role," Alam added. "They are compact, can be co-located with data centers, and offer zero-carbon baseload power with minimal land use. In this new landscape, they are not just a good fit; they are truly essential."
Some tech giants are not waiting for the new generation of advanced reactors. In Pennsylvania, for instance, a long-term power purchase agreement between Microsoft and power generation utility Constellation, announced last year, could pave the way for reopening the retired Three Mile Island Unit 1 in a few years. And Constellation’s more recent announcement of a nuclear PPA with Meta will likely keep the 1.1-GW Clinton nuclear plant operating in Illinois.
Google is pursuing future nuclear and utility-scale power, as well as long-term renewable energy purchases, to meet its future data load needs. On Tuesday, the company signed a framework deal with Brookfield Asset Management to eventually acquire 3 GW of hydropower capacity generated at the Holtwood and Safe Harbor hydro plants in Pennsylvania. The first phase of that deal is $3 billion for 670 MW of hydropower.
Since taking office, President Trump has worked to sweep out clean energy initiatives and incentives put in place by the Biden Administration but has warned of a “national energy emergency” and instructed the U.S. Department of Energy to streamline interconnection for new gas-fired and nuclear projects.
“The United States needs a reliable, diversified and affordable supply of energy to drive development of advanced technologies, manufacturing, transportation, agriculture and defense industries, and to sustain modern life and national security,” reads the May 23 presidential executive order on reforming nuclear reactor testing at the DOE.
Turning Steel into GWs and Gigabytes
As far as this week’s Pennsylvania AI and Energy Initiative is concerned, numerous companies are ready to move forward on projects in the region. Last month, water and resource recovery firm Gradiant announced that its alkaLi startup would design, build and operate a commercial lithium production facility in the Marcellus Shale formation, refining the lithium—the key component in large-scale batteries—from oilfield produced water.
Pennsylvania ranks third nationwide in electricity generation, behind only Texas and Florida. More than half of the Keystone state’s power generation comes from its ample natural gas supplies, but nuclear energy accounts for close to a third of the portfolio.
Private equity giant Blackstone is a major energy investor and will invest in redevelopment of a onetime steel mill in Aliquippa into a high-density data center complex. The $25 billion project is among many gaining momentum as the U.S. seeks to outpace China for AI dominance.
General Electric power spinoff GE Vernova, meanwhile, Tuesday revealed it was investing up to $100 million at a Charleroi plant which manufactures components for high-voltage switchgear. The Pennsylvania spend will be part of GE Vernova's nationwide $680 million investment throughout the U.S. focused around power grid capacity products.
Elsewhere, startup Fermi America, co-founded by former Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry, is planning to develop a massive AI-data center complex in the Texas Panhandle to be powered by natural gas and future advanced nuclear. The proposed $11 billion complex in Amarillo is being touted as off-grid energy development featuring Siemens Energy gas-fired turbines while waiting for nuclear approval, construction and commissioning. Fermi America is collaborating with Texas Tech University on developing the off-grid project.
“The Chinese are building 22 nuclear reactors today,” Perry, who also spent 15 years as Texas state governor, said in a statement. “We’re behind, and it’s all hands on deck. No one does energy better than Texas, and Fermi America and the Texas Tech University System are answering the call.”
In addition to leaders from Blackstone, other U.S. business leaders attending the Trump event at Carnegie Mellon included CEOs from SoftBank, Amazon Web Services, BlackRock and several energy entities.
President Biden expressed moral support for exponentially growing utility-scale and off-grid power to meet the AI and data center future. More was needed, and it's happening now with the Trump Administration, University of Illinois' Alam noted.
"From a policy perspective, this moment represents more than just a continuation of past efforts. While the Biden Administration laid a strong foundation through investments in clean energy and grid modernization, the Trump Administration is emphasizing urgency," Alam said. "These moves show a clear intent to accelerate timelines and reduce deployment barriers, which is exactly what is needed."
