Power Grid

The Trump administration’s long-term plan for artificial intelligence could have far-reaching environmental impacts across the country, including in Arizona, where AI companies are building energy-hungry data centers.

Arizona’s three major utility companies—Arizona Public Service (APS), Salt River Project (SRP), and Tucson Electric Power (TEP)—have announced plans to explore the possibility of incorporating nuclear energy into the state’s power grid.

The U.S. western power grid went down on September 8, 2011. At Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, this sparked the need for faster backup power. What followed…