Trump and the AI Power Boom Put Utility Climate Goals at Risk

Big US utilities’ climate goals are in peril as artificial intelligence turbocharges electricity demand and Donald Trump’s reelection signals policy shifts that would favor fossil fuels.

These companies all have ambitious targets to cut their carbon emissions, most often to reach “net-zero” by 2050. But the surprising growth in power consumption led by data centers, combined with Republican electoral victories, has some utilities delaying the retirement of coal-burning plants and planning a massive buildoutof natural gas generation.

The AI revolution, along with increased demand from new factories and the electrification of everything from vehicles to home heating, has ...