President Donald Trump's return to office could bring some temporary relief to the beleaguered U.S. coal industry.

Trump is also staffing his agencies with pro-coal administrators. The Energy Department last week rehired Steve Winberg, who was an assistant DOE secretary during Trump’s first term and is CEO of a group that supports retrofitting existing coal plants with carbon capture.

Satya Nadella, the boss of Microsoft, posted on X, a social-media platform, that “Jevons paradox strikes again! As AI gets more efficient and accessible, we will see its use skyrocket, turning it into a commodity we just can’t get enough of,

Douglas McIntyre, editor-in-chief at Climate Crisis, discusses the resurgence of coal as global energy demand rises. AI’s growing electricity needs and challenges to renewable energy expansion are contributing factors.

The Market Speaks After just one day of market trading, Hangzhou-based AI startup DeepSeek has absolutely liquidated the AI tech bubble. Today, tech stocks continue to be volatile for AI-adjacent industries.

In an apparent response to the attention on a new AI model out of China, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted online

“They have to produce a lot of electricity and we will make it possible for them to get that production done very easily, at their own plants if they want,” Trump said. “At the AI plant they will build energy generation and that will be incredible.” It’s unclear if building energy operations inside an AI data center is possible in practice.

Donald Trump proposed fast-tracking power plant approvals to benefit Big Tech companies and their massive need for electricity to power artificial intelligence facilities. This proposal would boost profits for large technology companies such as Meta,

President Trump said Thursday that he will use his energy emergency declaration to approve power stations for artificial intelligence (AI) centers. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, Trump

As with Jevons Paradox, efficiency gains should send AI use soaring as costs drop. As Microsoft’s Satya Nadella observed, what the steam engine did to coal demand is now likely to happen with AI.

Trump then went on to criticize the nation’s electric grid, calling it old while noting that he would allow the tech companies to rely on any fuel that they want to run the plants. And if the energy plants fail, Trump claimed the country could return to “good clean coal.”

What’s needed is an American pro-innovation AI agenda that promotes scientific leadership and turns breakthrough innovations into practical tools with widespread benefit.