US official proposes surprising solution for pressing national issue: 'We need to bring those back on'

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum thinks the United States should bring some old coal plants back online to keep up with electricity demand — made more pressing with the rise of energy-draining artificial intelligence. 

What's happening?

"We've got to keep every plant open," Burgum said during the CERAWeek energy conference, as Reuters reported. "And if there have been units at a coal plant that have been shut down, we need to bring those back on."

President Donald Trump's administration has declared a national energy emergency. Burgum said that removing environmental rules could make it easier to keep old plants running longer.

This comes as the U.S. is seeing record energy use. As the Energy Information Administration reported, electricity demand is expected to rise by nearly 3% this year, partly because of the growth of data centers and AI technology.

Why is reopening coal plants concerning?

Coal plants are one of the biggest sources of pollution in the country. Burning coal releases carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and other harmful pollutants that can lead to health problems like asthma, heart disease, and even early death, as the Environmental Protection Agency noted.

Coal also releases a lot of planet-warming gases, which drive rising global temperatures that exacerbate extreme weather events. Restarting these plants would increase pollution and undo the progress made by clean energy efforts over the last two decades. 

What's being done instead?

Some states are already moving in the opposite direction. Michigan passed a law in 2023 to have 100% clean energy by 2040. In Parkland, retired coal sites are already being replaced with cleaner alternatives like solar farms, helping reduce pollution and open up space for public use.

Meanwhile, the EIA said in January that the U.S. is set to add 26 gigawatts of solar energy in 2025 — the most ever in a single year.

Switching to cleaner energy at home or supporting local solar projects can also help reduce reliance on polluting dirty fuels.

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