Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum advocated increased use of fossil fuels to power artificial intelligence advancements, calling losing to China in the race for artificial intelligence arms the current biggest “existential threat” to the United States.
“We need more electricity to win the AI arms race against China,” Burgum said, emphasizing the administration’s stance on securing more base-load power Friday during Semafor‘s World Economy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Burgum said the U.S. risks letting China get ahead on AI if it continues following past administrations’ strategies of focusing on the accelerated phaseout of fossil fuels such as coal and spending on renewable energy.
He said the pursuit of clean energy also puts Americans at a higher risk of grid failure, as renewables and battery storage technologies have yet to meet growing energy demand. Burgum said this is a greater risk than that posed by global warming, which is fueled by carbon and methane emissions that can be traced back to the burning of fossil fuels.
“Part of that destabilization, again, is this massive investment that we’ve made in intermittent … in some of the same mistakes that Britain, Germany and others have made with the idea … built around a premise that the biggest existential threat to the world is a degree of temperature change in 2100,” Burgum said.
“When the real existential threat that we’re facing is perhaps around getting a nuclear weapon or losing the AI arms race to China,” he continued.
Burgum said an “incredible regulatory regime” has attempted to drive out base-load power created by fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas in favor of what he described as “heavily tax-subsidized intermittent sources.”
“That is the same mistake that Germany made. It’s a mistake that Britain’s made,” Burgum said. “I mean that you’d lose your steel industry, you deindustrialize. And in a world where we need electricity to win the AI arms race. It actually would be catastrophic for our country to continue down that path.”
While Burgum echoed Friday the president’s disapproval of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, he insisted the White House hasn’t shown “any hostility” toward renewables.
However, Burgum conceded there is “hostility” or concern over whether the U.S. has “gone too far” with subsidies offered for intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.
“The wind doesn’t blow 24 hours a day, the sun doesn’t shine 24 hours a day,” Burgum said.
Burgum’s remarks came days after the Interior Department unveiled new emergency permitting procedures to expedite the approval process for fossil fuel and mining projects that need leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, generation, or exploration permits. The process is intended to slash the typically yearslong process to just 28 days at the most.
Burgum explained Friday that these procedures build on President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency on his first day in office.
Solar and wind power were not included in the fast-tracked emergency permitting process.
Despite the administration’s criticism of the renewable energy industry, solar power has dominated domestic energy growth in recent years. In 2024, it was the largest source of new energy capacity (around 50 gigawatts) added to the national grid.
Energy experts have called on the administration and Republican critics to continue embracing renewable power to get ahead in domestic AI developments, given the rising demand. Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said Republicans and Democrats need to adjust their positioning.
TRUMP TO FAST-TRACK PERMITS FOR FOSSIL FUELS AND MINING
“On the political left, there’s got to be a realization that we cannot possibly win the AI race and keep prices affordable and reliable for Americans without fossil fuels,” Chatterjee told Axios.
“On the political right, there needs to be a recognition that we cannot possibly win the AI race with fossil fuels alone, that we’re going to need every available electron,” he said.
