Coal-generated energy in the US is set to stick around longer than previously expected, to fulfill increasing demand from datacenters.that only 54 gigawatts of the US coal industry is projected to be powered off by 2030 – down 40 percent from a prediction made in July last year. The total number of coal plants retired by 2050 is still expected to be roughly the same, but the pace of retirement from now to the end of the decade will be significantly slower compared to last year's estimates.
Coal plants can credit their new lease on life to the datacenter industry, which is expanding and upgrading existing bit barns as well as building new facilities. The age of AI requires lots of energy –alone is expected to use ten times the power of a more traditional information request, according to the International Energy Agency's January report.