Trump is making coal plants even dirtier as AI demands more energy

Kingston Fossil Plant, a 1.4-gigawatt coal-fired power plant located in Roane County, just outside Kingston, Tennessee on the shore of Watts Bar Lake. | Photo: Getty Images

The Trump administration just tossed out Biden-era restrictions on mercury and other toxic pollutants from power plants. It's repealing Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) just as electricity demand in the US ticks up with the buildout of new AI data centers.

Those standards are particularly impactful when it...