As Big Tech develops more artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, advocates flaunt the promise of more jobs and innovation, while others warn about the impending power crunch and potential antitrust issues as a handful of companies could dominate the power sector.
Former Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ Antitrust Division Jonathan Kanter told The Wall Street Journal Tuesday that he’s concerned antitrust issues will arise over energy as data centers burn through mass amounts of power, potentially at the expense of local communities. Since data centers burn through so much power, they could dominate the energy sector as they drive up costs for the consumer, though several energy policy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that expanding AI is necessary despite the power problems it poses.
“Looking ahead, energy, power is going to be an extremely important area of focus for antitrust enforcers,” Kanter told the WSJ. “Data centers consume more natural resources, and the cost of power goes up, and data centers consume power at the expense of local communities and businesses.”
The Trump administration unveiled an AI plan on July 23 which included the rapid build-out of data centers and noted the vitality of surpassing China in the AI race, all while several energy policy experts, grid watchdogs and the Department of Energy (DOE) warned that America’s already insecure power grid is being strained by soaring data center demand.
Electricity demand is expected to reach a record high in the coming years, rising by 25% by 2030, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and a report from ICF International. Data centers are driving much of the demand, and some industry experts like Kanter are concerned that Big Tech companies may end up hogging the electricity grid.
“While it’s quite possible that many consumers will face high prices for less reliable power in the near-term because of tremendous data center needs and a grid that has been crippled by green policies, what we actually need are more power plants and fewer green policies,” Milloy told the DCNF. “As their climate agenda fails, it’s no surprise that greens are threatening antitrust prosecutions against Big Tech and electricity generators. The rapidly growing demand for power is such that Big Tech is cutting whatever deals it can with existing power generators pending construction of more conventional (fossil fuel) power plants.”
President Donald Trump has moved to boost conventional energy resources like coal, though he’s also championed resources like nuclear and geothermal. Trump and Congress have cracked down on “market distorting” Biden-era wind and solar subsidies all while the Department of the Interior (DOI) declared that it will not give preferential treatment to resources like wind and solar that it considers to be “foreign-controlled” and “unreliable.”
Trump declared a national energy emergency his first day back in the Oval Office and the DOE has warned that blackouts could increase 100-fold by 2030 if America continues to phase out reliable power sources without suitable replacements. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said at an American Petroleum Institute event on permitting reform in Washington, D.C., on Monday that he considered how to get more power on the grid every day, and that permitting reform is the way forward. Burgum argued that power feeds data centers and AI will drive much-needed innovation.
The DOJ declined to comment for this story.
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