Steve Forbes Urges Trump to Scrap 2009 Power Rules for AI Energy Needs

1 articles · Updated · New York Post · Jul 10

Steve Forbes called on President Donald Trump to rescind federal power-plant regulations tied to the Obama administration’s 2009 greenhouse-gas endangerment finding, arguing they block the electricity buildout AI will require.
249 billion tons of recoverable U.S. coal reserves, along with natural gas and nuclear, should stay in the power mix because data centers need abundant, reliable baseload electricity rather than weather-dependent wind and solar, he wrote.
February’s rollback of vehicle-emissions rules by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin shows a precedent for extending the same logic to electricity generation, which Forbes said Trump and Zeldin could do immediately.
Meta’s 1.2-gigawatt nuclear project with Oklo in Ohio and power deals by Microsoft, Amazon and Google underscore how major AI companies are already securing firm energy supplies.
Forbes said Congress should codify any rollback to prevent a future administration from restoring the rules, framing power policy as central to U.S. competitiveness and national security in the AI race.