AI Boom Will Boost US Renewables Despite Trump, Fortescue Says
(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump’s dismissal of climate change and attacks on renewable energy won’t significantly damp demand for clean power in the US, where artificial intelligence will further accelerate the shift to cheap, low-carbon energy, according to Fortescue Ltd.
Cost-of-living pressures and an AI-driven surge in power use will ensure clean-energy demand grows over the mid-to-long-term in the US, Chief Executive Officer Dino Otranto said in an interview on Friday. Renewable energy is already more economical than coal or gas in the US despite political roadblocks, he said.
“What the US consumer needs is lower cost of energy in a inflationary environment,” Otranto said, adding that renewables provide that solution. “Politics will be, pardon the pun, trumped by economics.”
Otranto spoke after the Australian miner said it finalized its acquisition of Spanish renewable technology company Nabrawind SL, and signed preliminary agreements with BYD Co., LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., and Envision Greenwise Holdings Ltd. for wind turbines, solar panes and battery storage. Fortescue Chairman Andrew Forrest — Australia’s second-richest person — on Wednesday attacked Trump’s denial of climate science at a meeting in New York.
Trump’s administration has aggressively rolled back pro-renewable energy policies and eliminated key tax incentives since his return to office in January. That has contributed to nearly $42 billion in renewable projects being delayed, shrunk or canceled since his inauguration.
More than 90% of the new renewable power projects commissioned last year were more cost-effective than any new fossil fuel alternatives, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. Speeding up electrification and adding renewables has the potential to slash $19 trillion from fuel costs by mid-century, according to BloombergNEF.
Fortescue, the fourth-biggest iron ore miner, also signed a partnership with XCMG Construction Machinery Co. to build on its existing agreement with Liebherr-International Deutschland GmbH to deploy a fleet of battery electric haul trucks, with deliveries planned from 2028 to 2030.
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