Trump's AI Plan Threatens Water, Energy and Economic Security in America

Today the Trump administration released an “AI Action Plan,” which outlines its priorities related to the advancement of so-called “artificial intelligence” and the industries supporting it – including massive energy- and water-intensive data centers. Among other things, Trump’s plan seeks to dismantle existing environmental and land use rules that it views as a hindrance to the unfettered growth of these industries.

Yet recent research from Food & Water Watch details the immense and potentially catastrophic impact on water and energy resources an unfettered AI industry could have on communities across the country – especially those in the West that are already suffering through a decade or more of extreme drought. Energy demand from AI servers and data centers in the U.S. is expected to increase up to threefold between 2023 and 2028. Among the report’s findings, by 2028 AI in the United States could consume:

• 720 billion gallons of water annually just to cool AI servers — equal to more than 1 million Olympic-size swimming pools, or enough water to meet the indoor needs of 18.5 million American households.
• 300 terawatt-hours (TWh) of energy annually — enough electricity to power over 28 million American households.

Meanwhile:

• As of 2024, ChatGPT used over half a million kilowatts of electricity each day, equivalent to the daily power use of 180,000 U.S. households.
• One Meta-owned data center consumes as much power as 7 million laptops running for eight hours each day.
• In Santa Clara Ca., 50 data centers account for 60 percent of the city’s electricity use, while receiving discounted rates on electricity compared to residential rates.

In response, Food & Water Watch’s managing director of policy and litigation, Mitch Jones, made the following statement:

“At its core, President Trump’s AI agenda is nothing more than a thinly-veiled invitation for the fossil fuel and corporate water industries to ramp up their exploitation of our environment and natural resources – all at the expense of everyday people. In communities across the country we are already seeing precious water and energy supplies being diverted to massive data centers, while homes and small businesses are paying ballooning costs for their regular utility needs.

“The expanding data center industry is being leveraged as an excuse to prolong the life of filthy, climate-killing fossil fuel power and dangerous nuclear plants, and even build new ones.

“America’s technological advancements must not come at the expense of everyday families’ water, energy and economic security – plain and simple.”