The fossil fuel comeback is here
The fossil fuel comeback is here. Data centers are demanding more energy, and the Trump administration is making sure fossil fuels meet the moment.
化石燃料的回归已经到来。数据中心对能源的需求日益增长，而特朗普政府正确保化石燃料能够满足这一需求。
The US is building more fossil fuel infrastructure than it has in a decade while renewable energy growth slows down, a new report shows. Electricity demand is also climbing faster than it has in more than a decade with more data centers, factories, and electric vehicles plugging into the grid.
一份新的报告显示，美国正在建设十年来最多的化石燃料基础设施，与此同时，可再生能源的增长却在放缓。随着更多数据中心、工厂和电动汽车接入电网，电力需求也正以十多年来最快的速度攀升。
Despite those growing demands, the Trump administration has sought to hobble the wind and solar industries in favor of fossil fuels. America’s energy landscape is already shifting as a result, according to the report published last week by the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund and research firm Atlas Public Policy.
尽管需求不断增长，特朗普政府仍试图通过打压风能和太阳能产业来支持化石燃料。根据非营利组织“环境保护基金”和研究公司“Atlas Public Policy”上周发布的报告，美国的能源格局已因此发生转变。
If all the gas projects in the development pipeline complete construction, they could lock in more pollution and higher electricity prices for decades, the authors warn. “The U.S. power sector is at a new inflection point, with decisions made today shaping the cost, reliability, and emissions profile of the grid for decades to come,” the report says.
报告作者警告称，如果开发渠道中的所有天然气项目都能完成建设，它们可能会在未来几十年内锁定更多的污染和更高的电价。报告指出：“美国电力行业正处于一个新的转折点，今天的决策将决定未来几十年电网的成本、可靠性和排放状况。”
While the US still generates 60 percent of its electricity from fossil fuels, renewables have quickly gained ground. Wind and solar produced more electricity together than coal for the first time in 2024. Solar was the fastest-growing source of new electricity generation that year, accounting for 81 percent of added capacity.
虽然美国仍有60%的电力来自化石燃料，但可再生能源已迅速取得进展。2024年，风能和太阳能发电量总和首次超过了煤炭。太阳能是当年增长最快的新电力来源，占新增产能的81%。
Then Donald Trump stepped into his second term as president with a plan to “drill, baby, drill” for fossil fuels, his preferred power source for energy-hungry data centers. His administration has sought to kill renewable energy projects by issuing stop work orders, blocking permits, and removing tax incentives.
随后，唐纳德·特朗普开启了他的第二个总统任期，并计划“钻探，宝贝，钻探”以获取化石燃料，这是他为能源密集型数据中心所偏好的能源来源。他的政府试图通过发布停工令、阻止许可审批以及取消税收优惠来扼杀可再生能源项目。
The winds are shifting in favor of gas-fired power plants. Plans for new fossil fuel infrastructure climbed from just 5 percent of all new capacity in 2024 to 30 percent by the second quarter of 2026, according to the new report. If the trend continues, fossil fuels could make up 70 percent of the development pipeline by the end of the decade.
风向正转向支持燃气发电厂。根据这份新报告，新化石燃料基础设施的计划占比已从2024年占所有新增产能的5%攀升至2026年第二季度的30%。如果这一趋势持续下去，到本十年末，化石燃料可能占开发渠道的70%。
Many of those plans could still fall through, particularly if forecasts for AI data center energy demand are overblown. But for now, renewable energy projects are being canceled at a faster clip than fossil fuels, at 4.9 percent compared to 2.9 percent of projects, respectively.
其中许多计划仍可能流产，尤其是如果对人工智能数据中心能源需求的预测被夸大的话。但就目前而言，可再生能源项目的取消速度快于化石燃料项目，取消率分别为4.9%和2.9%。
New utility-scale solar and wind farms still beat gas when it comes to cost, coming in at $68 to $69 per megawatt-hour on average compared to $90 per megawatt-hour for new combined-cycle natural gas plants, the report finds. Fossil fuels are also subject to increasing price volatility, particularly since the US instigated war with Iran.
报告发现，在成本方面，新的公用事业规模太阳能和风电场仍优于天然气，平均每兆瓦时成本为68至69美元，而新的联合循环天然气发电厂则为每兆瓦时90美元。化石燃料也面临着日益加剧的价格波动，特别是在美国挑起与伊朗的战争之后。