How Trump plans to tackle environmental impact of AI industry
11 Feb 2026

The Donald Trump administration is pursuing a voluntary deal with major tech companies to address the rising energy and water demands of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The move comes amid growing public and environmental concerns over the impact of these facilities on household electricity bills, the local power grids, and water resources.

The proposed framework would encourage companies to disclose their resource use, improve their efficiency, and rely more heavily on renewable power.

The energy and water demands of AI
Energy consumption

AI data centers are critical to modern chatbots, autonomous systems, and cloud computing.

However, they consume huge amounts of electricity and water, putting a strain on regional infrastructure.

The US government is in talks with major players like Microsoft, Google, and Amazon who have rapidly expanded their data infrastructure to meet AI's growing computational demands.

Local opposition to data centers
Community pushback

Communities across the US have started resisting proposed data-center projects, especially in areas prone to water scarcity or with aging electrical grids.

Local opposition has stalled or reshaped several developments in states like Iowa, Virginia, and Texas.

The Trump administration's strategy is voluntary for now, hoping to secure public commitments on sustainability metrics before resorting to legislation.

Environmental impact of AI
Environmental impact

The expansion of AI isn't just a technological/economic issue, but also an environmental one. Training large language models and running generative AI systems require a lot of processing power. Industry forecasts indicate that the energy footprint of AI is likely to triple globally by 2030.