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Can US afford cost of clean-energy protectionism in race for AI capabilities?_我的网站

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Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT
Recent media reports have questioned whether a natural gas plant built to power an Amazon data center project in Texas could become the largest climate polluter in the US. The controversy, whatever the eventual outcome, offers a reality check for America's artificial intelligence (AI) drive.
It exposes a growing contradiction: The US is racing to expand its AI capabilities, yet its protectionist trade policies are making it harder and more costly to access some of the clean-energy technologies needed to sustain that expansion. This raises a broader question: Can an energy-intensive AI race afford the costs of renewable energy protectionism?
The US is entering a new era of rising electricity demand. Data centers, the backbone of the AI economy, are emerging as one of the fastest-growing sources of power consumption. Much of that demand is still being met by fossil fuels: The International Energy Agency reports that natural gas supplies more than 40 percent of the electricity used by data centers in the US, making it their largest source of power.
So, it's not surprising that the expansion of data centers has raised concerns over their environmental impact and the pressure they could place on local power systems and electricity bills. A Gallup survey conducted in March found that seven in 10 Americans opposed the construction of AI data centers in their local area, including 48 percent who strongly opposed such projects.
The findings point to a broader challenge for the US: The race to develop AI is increasingly becoming a race to meet growing energy needs. Addressing this challenge will require more than advances in computing technology; it will also depend on an energy system capable of delivering large amounts of reliable, affordable and cleaner power. That, in turn, will require faster development and broader deployment of clean-energy technologies, from solar power to energy storage.
Yet in the clean-energy sector, the US has increasingly relied on protectionist trade measures that limit access to cost-competitive products from global markets. The country has placed greater emphasis on expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, but rebuilding entire clean-energy supply chains at home is a costly and time-consuming process. Even if expanded domestic production is achieved, it is likely to come at a higher cost, making the deployment of renewable technologies more expensive and potentially slower.
The solar industry offers a clear illustration of this policy direction. The US has continued to expand trade barriers in the sector. Reuters reported that the US government announced on Thursday a series of price floors and a 15 percent tariff on products made from polysilicon, a raw material used in solar panels.
The challenge lies in the limited scale of the US polysilicon industry. Reuters reported that the country has two polysilicon factories. Against this backdrop, relying on domestic polysilicon production while restricting access to imports runs counter to the goal of expanding solar power in the US. The country risks creating barriers that ultimately constrain its own access to the global supply chains needed for growth.
The pressing issue for the US is the speed at which new power demand is emerging. The expansion of data centers is creating electricity needs that cannot wait for domestic clean-energy capacity to develop gradually. Global supply chains can provide the scale and speed required in the near term. By narrowing access to these sources, the US risks turning clean-energy policy into a drag on the infrastructure needed for its AI race.
The US has placed AI high on its economic and technological agenda. The outcome of this race will matter greatly, as financial markets are also watching whether America can turn its AI efforts into commercial success.
This leaves the US with a difficult choice: Can it afford the cost of clean-energy protectionism while racing to build AI infrastructure? The answer may be no. Trade barriers that limit access to competitive renewable technologies could ultimately become a constraint on the AI expansion that Washington is seeking to accelerate.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]

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B | “人民空军”微信公众号8月24日发布消息称，北京时间8月23日，中埃“文明之鹰-2026”空军联合训练迎来首个飞行训练日。中埃空军联合训练的首个飞行日，训练课目是异型机1对1对抗空战。从“人民空军”发布的视频中可以看到，中方飞行员驾驶着我国自主研制的歼-16重型歼击机与埃及空军装备的法制“阵风”战机进行了对抗演习。

C | 24日接受《环球时报》记者采访的军事专家表示，此次中埃空军联合训练，既能够有效检验我方装备，也能切身感知“阵风”战机的性能。 “人民空军”消息称，23日，随着中埃空军的战机接续升空，双方飞行员在贴近实战的场景下，展开激烈较量。

D | 据介绍，飞行训练前，中埃飞行员分别授课，介绍双方参训装备性能；随后，双方对联合训练课目进行深入研究讨论，明确飞行安全规则、空域管制规定、起降方法和特情处置预案。

E | 军事专家张学峰24日告诉《环球时报》记者，歼-16为双发重型多用途战斗机，载油量可达9吨以上，该机滞空时间长、载弹量大，机载雷达探测距离更远，中远距离作战优势显著，是世界同代战斗机中航程最远的机型之一。同时歼-16可适配多型弹药，拥有强大的对地、对海打击能力，是名副其实的空中多面手。

F | 张学峰说：“歼-16远赴埃及参加联合训练，不仅充分验证了该型战机远程转场、跨域作战的实际能力，也为应对周边同类型装备威胁积累宝贵的实战化演训经验。

G | ” 中埃“文明之鹰-2026”空军联合训练也吸引多家外媒报道。彭博社24日称，根据埃及军方发布的照片，歼-16和“阵风”正在埃及开展联合训练。该媒体提到，中国歼-10战机因在去年的印巴冲突中对战“阵风”战机的作战表现受到关注。沙特《中东报》24日援引埃及军方的声明称，“文明之鹰-2026”的参演装备包括多种型号的多用途战斗机，演习将在埃及境内的多个空军基地进行，为期数日。

H | “埃及空军列装的‘阵风’战机或为F3标准，可配备有源相控阵雷达，这也是在中外联合演训中，中国空军面对的技术水平最为先进的西方战机。”张学峰表示，在空战场景下，歼-16可高效夺取制空权，在己方电子战飞机掩护下，还可突破敌方防空体系，对地面目标实施精确打击。作为重型战斗机，歼-16配备两台大推力、大推重比发动机，机动水平与中型的“阵风”战斗机总体相当，各有优势，能够在近距格斗环节充分检验双方的技战术运用水平。