Trump plans to use emergency powers to fast-track generation co-located with AI

President Donald Trump plans to speed power plant development for co-located artificial intelligence data centers using his energy emergency declaration, he said Thursday. “I can get the approvals done myself without having to go through years of waiting,” Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I'm going to give emergency declarations so that they can start building them almost immediately.” Earlier this week, Trump hosted several of the founders of the Stargate Project at the White House. The Stargate Project is a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX. The project envisions “immediately” spending $100 billion on co-located data centers with an initial focus on a site in Abilene, Texas. “We need to double the energy we currently have in the United States … for AI to really be as big as we want to have it” to compete with China and other countries, Trump said. Co-locating generation and data centers “was largely my idea,” Trump said. “Nobody thought this was possible … I told them that what I want you to do is build your electric generating plant right next to your plant as a separate building connected.” Coal-fired generation could be used as a backup for the data centers, according to Trump. “Nothing can destroy coal, not the weather, not a bomb, nothing,” Trump said. “It might make it a little smaller, might make it a little different shape, but coal is very strong as a backup.” Trump’s co-location comments appear to align with newly appointed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie, according to ClearView Energy Partners. “Chairman Christie has supported co-location on the condition that developers site data centers adjacent to new power plants,” the research firm said in a client note on Thursday. “He has raised concerns about data centers or other energy-intensive facilities co-locating next to existing baseload resources, which, in his words, would reduce ‘big dispatchable resources out of the supply stack.’” In November, Christie joined FERC Commissioner Lindsay See in a 2-1 vote to reject an amended interconnection service agreement that would have facilitated expanded power sales to a co-located Amazon data center from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that is majority owned by Talen Energy. Talen on Jan. 15 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn FERC’s decision. Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, said fast-tracking fossil fueled power plants for data centers would hurt utility ratepayers. “Trump's fake emergency to justify fast-tracking coal- and gas-fired power plants to supply power-hungry AI data centers will expose American families to higher utility bills, spoil air quality and gush increased greenhouse gas emissions,” Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, said in a press release.

President Donald Trump plans to speed power plant development for co-located artificial intelligence data centers using his energy emergency declaration, he said Thursday.

“I can get the approvals done myself without having to go through years of waiting,” Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “I’m going to give emergency declarations so that they can start building them almost immediately.”

Earlier this week, Trump hosted several of the founders of the Stargate Project at the White House. The Stargate Project is a joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX. The project envisions “immediately” spending $100 billion on co-located data centers with an initial focus on a site in Abilene, Texas.

“We need to double the energy we currently have in the United States … for AI to really be as big as we want to have it” to compete with China and other countries, Trump said.

Co-locating generation and data centers “was largely my idea,” Trump said. “Nobody thought this was possible … I told them that what I want you to do is build your electric generating plant right next to your plant as a separate building connected.”

Coal-fired generation could be used as a backup for the data centers, according to Trump. “Nothing can destroy coal, not the weather, not a bomb, nothing,” Trump said. “It might make it a little smaller, might make it a little different shape, but coal is very strong as a backup.”

Trump’s co-location comments appear to align with newly appointed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Mark Christie, according to ClearView Energy Partners.

“Chairman Christie has supported co-location on the condition that developers site data centers adjacent to new power plants,” the research firm said in a client note on Thursday. “He has raised concerns about data centers or other energy-intensive facilities co-locating next to existing baseload resources, which, in his words, would reduce ‘big dispatchable resources out of the supply stack.’”

In November, Christie joined FERC Commissioner Lindsay See in a 2-1 vote to reject an amended interconnection service agreement that would have facilitated expanded power sales to a co-located Amazon data center from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania that is majority owned by Talen Energy. Talen on Jan. 15 asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to overturn FERC’s decision.

Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, said fast-tracking fossil fueled power plants for data centers would hurt utility ratepayers.

“Trump’s fake emergency to justify fast-tracking coal- and gas-fired power plants to supply power-hungry AI data centers will expose American families to higher utility bills, spoil air quality and gush increased greenhouse gas emissions,” Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program, said in a press release.

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Neudesic launches in Australia in a bid to speed up AI adoption for IT teams

Artificial intelligence (AI) has gained significant traction among business leaders keen to explore ways it can drive operational efficiencies and cost savings.

But while top leadership is sold on its potential, it’s a different tale for IT teams working the ground. In Australia, the challenges of implementing AI are particularly pronounced, ranging from limited expertise and siloed operations to the rising tide of cybersecurity risks. It’s no surprise then that in the face of complexity, companies are not sure how to take the first step towards smooth and successful AI deployments.

Australia’s AI challenges

Access to skilled resources, funding issues, and having to keep ahead of AI’s rapid evolution are just some of the challenges that make it difficult to implement AI solutions uniformly in Australia. For mid-market companies in highly regulated industries, such as finance, energy, and utilities, addressing cybersecurity concerns and responsible AI implementation are also on the list. This is further made complex by the widespread use of legacy systems, which are unable to cope with AI’s demands.

“From an AI context, their challenges are similar to other sectors. This includes access to talent, quality of data, integration with legacy systems, change management, and ethical and regulatory concerns. However, they also face heightened cyber threats and fraud, driven by threat actors leveraging AI to become more sophisticated. The consequence of a breach can be significant from both a financial and consumer trust perspective,” explains John Hanna, Neudesic Australia.

Ultimately, the breadth of data mid-market companies in finance, energy, and utilities need to deal with is beyond the capabilities of existing systems that rely on the identification of known patterns or human analysis. Hanna added that adopting AI, unlocks a company’s capability to analyse information at scale and speed to identify and stop these threats before they significantly impact the business.

To overcome these challenges, Neudesic helps organisations through its expertise, cutting-edge technology, and strong partnerships with Microsoft, having won the Microsoft Partner of the Year award over 20 times. As a global professional services firm, Neudesic is now bringing decades of experience delivering capabilities spanning data and AI, cloud migration and modernisation, application development, and business strategy to Australia.

Hanna shares Neudesic’s approach, which comprises four pillars.

People: Its diverse array of internal experts spanning industries, skillsets, and Microsoft Azure and OpenAI solutions help clients address a wide spectrum of business challenges for any organisation

Approach: It achieves results not only by implementing Microsoft and OpenAI solutions, but also by addressing today’s challenges, identifying tomorrow’s opportunities, and designing the best path forward

Technology: It focuses on innovation to develop solutions that meet clients’ needs while accelerating time to value

Expertise: With 20 years of expertise in Microsoft’s stack, it offers clients expert knowledge to tackle critical IT challenges and unlock new opportunities

Neudesic’s process starts with understanding each client’s business needs, followed by collaborative workshops and rapid prototyping. The team will then develop a roadmap aligned with a client’s goals and ensure ongoing model refinement, data updates, and process improvements.

“We are also back by IBM and an awarded Microsoft partner. What this means for customers is access to the expertise and experience of experts across both tech stacks dedicated to solving the most critical IT challenges of Australian businesses and capturing new growth opportunities,” says Hanna.

Simplifying critical industry processes with AI

A clear example of how Neudesic is driving AI is in simplifying the Know Your Customer (KYC) process in finance, also known as identity verification.

KYC is where good customer experience is critical, but traditional KYC processes can take days or even weeks. According to a report conducted by financial compliance software company Fenergo, eight out of 10 survey respondents would lose clients to an inefficient onboarding process. More than ever, there is a need for streamlined and intelligent document processing solutions to stay competitive.  

Neudesic’s Document Intelligence Platform helps automate the KYC process by capturing customer data from various formats, cross-referencing it with databases, and validating the information in real-time. It also streamlines compliance with customer identification programs. 

What does this mean for financial organisations? They can now handle high volumes of KYC checks without additional staffing, while automation cuts operational costs. Real-time verification speeds up processes like account openings and loan approvals so that banks can acquire and manage customer assets sooner. What’s more, the platform integrates seamlessly with existing systems like Fenergo for a more robust and efficient workflow.

By partnering with integrators like Neudesic, Australian businesses can deploy AI through a proven, logical methodology and unlock the ability to invest and accelerate AI use based on business demand and available capital

“Every business dreams big with AI but can stumble when turning ambition into action. Success demands strategy, tailored solutions, and expert guidance. With a trusted partner, businesses can avoid common pitfalls and mistakes that will result in less investment remorse and create business confidence in AI faster than would otherwise be possible,” concludes Hanna.

Learn more about how Neudesic can help Australian organisations go forward in AI, confidently.

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