The US is weighing a deeply unconventional fix for AI-driven demand: diesel backup generators. (Bloomberg)
Energy Secretary Chris Wright says 35 GW of idle diesel capacity already sits behind the fence at data centers, retail chains, and industrial campuses—roughly the output of 35 nuclear reactors that never run unless the grid fails.
The administration is studying whether loosening pollution limits could let these units operate more often as a stopgap power source—a controversial move states like Maryland have already initiated.