Trump Ignores Biggest Reasons his AI Data Center Buildout is Failing

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Just a very funny executive order. The importation of AI chips is a national security threat! That's why I'm exempting AI data centers from the tariffs! The only meaningful thing this does is implement the 25% export tax on NVIDIA chips going to China in a roundabout way.

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-- Joey Politano (@josephpolitano.bsky.social) Jan 14, 2026 at 5:17 PM

More from the article ...

... Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that "almost half of the US data centers planned for this year are expected to be delayed or canceled" because developers can't import enough transformers, switchgear, and batteries to build out the power infrastructure that every data center needs.

These parts, which China has primarily manufactured for US manufacturers "for decades," used to take between 24 and 30 months to get delivered prior to 2020. Now, they can require wait times up to five years, Bloomberg reported. That lag could matter, since China is reportedly about five years behind the US in the AI race.

Rather than rely on China, Trump would prefer that the US manufacture its own equipment. However, currently, "US manufacturing capacity for these devices cannot keep up with demand," Bloomberg reported.

Analysts at the market intelligence firm Sightline Climate told Bloomberg that "only a third" of the largest AI data centers that are supposed to come online in 2026 are "currently under construction." ...

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-05 01:00 PM | Reply

.... New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill came into office promising to lower energy costs " even pledging to freeze utility rates.

Instead, they could soon be on the rise.

Electricity bills for New Jersey residents jumped about 20 percent last year, leading to record-high costs this winter " a spike regulators and consumer advocates say is being driven by the explosive growth of energy-hungry data centers powering the AI boom.

The surge is creating an early political test for Sherrill, a newly elected Democrat who made affordability the centerpiece of her campaign. She now faces rising costs driven by forces largely outside her control.

Much of that demand is coming from outside New Jersey. Northern Virginia -- home to the country's largest concentration of data centers " is causing a surge in electricity use across the regional grid that includes New Jersey.

Since New Jersey is part of a 13-state power market run by PJM Interconnection, Sherrill has few tools to stop the increases. ...

#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-04-05 01:32 PM | Reply

He's a ------- idiot.

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-04-05 02:30 PM | Reply