Trump to Push Big Tech to Fund New Power Plants
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Amid growing resistance to new data centers and fears of pricier electricity, President Trump pushes tech companies to pay for new power plants. Plus, sidelined by Washington, Canada's leader finds a friend in China. We must be ambitious.
We must work at speed and scale to find new partners to diversify our trade and attract unprecedented levels of investment in our country.
And why potential U.S. strikes on Iran might not help anti-regime protesters there.
How will the Trump administration’s plan force Big Tech to fund new power plants?
It's Friday, January 16th. I'm Luke Vargas for The Wall Street Journal. And here is the AM edition of What's News, the top headlines and business stories moving your world today. In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration is set to propose that America's largest grid operator, PJM, hold an emergency auction in which tech companies would bid on 15-year contracts for new power plants. That would effectively formalize a bring-your-own-power approach to data center construction that's already taken hold across much of the U.S.
What is a PJM emergency auction and how would it change data center power procurement?
and which the administration has begun to embrace. In October, Energy Secretary Chris Wright instructed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to draft rules giving it oversight of how giant data centers connect to the grid, a process typically overseen by states. Officials argue that the change could get data centers connected to the grid faster and easier, though some state regulators are pushing back, saying the plan encroaches on their authority. Canada and China are setting aside years of frosty relations and pledging to work closer on agriculture, energy and finance. Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to Beijing this week is being seen as Ottawa's pivot away from the United States. Peter Seidel is the journal's Asia political editor.
It can be risky, Peter, to read too much into a bilateral meeting, but the significance of this visit seems pretty straightforward. Tell us why you've been tracking this.
Why are state regulators pushing back against federal oversight of data-center grid connections?
Well, it's been closely watched because of the sort of decaying relationship between Canada and the U.S. And Carney has said that the close relationship with the U.S. as it once was is now over and that Canada needs to find new partners. It's also significant from a China perspective in that China's sort of on a global charm offensive to step into the breach where U.S. partners are feeling spurned
Why is Canada pivoting toward China and what deals were struck on EVs and agriculture?
by Trump and are looking for other relationships around the world. Peter, the details are, of course, still coming in here, but it sounds like there is some substance to this. Carney saying that Chinese EVs are going to be allowed into the Canadian market. This is something he hopes leads to Chinese investment in Canada's auto and clean energy sectors. And meanwhile, Canadian farmers are going to be getting more access into the Chinese market.
Yes, that's really significant because the products you mentioned have been significant obstacles. On both sides, Canada's kept a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs and Canada's canola farmers are keen to get into the Chinese market where there's a 76% tariff. So any progress there is both significant for Canada's economy and symbolic for a sort of progress and a trade relationship when Canada's relationship with the U.S.
How significant is China as a trading partner for Canada compared with the U.S.?
is on the wane. It's also important to recognize that China is Canada's number two trading partner. Its two-way trade is about $80 billion over the past 12 months, whereas with the U.S., it was $1 trillion during that period. So China can't really replace the U.S. as a trading partner, but it can give a boost to Canada.
That was Journal Asia political editor Peter Seidel. Back in Washington, President Trump has the Nobel Peace Prize he's long coveted, sort of.
I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize.
That was Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who made that gesture yesterday during a visit to the White House, but who emerged with no public backing from Trump. On social media, the president called Machado a wonderful woman who's been through so much, but the Trump administration says it will continue to work with Venezuela's acting president, Delce Rodriguez, who was Nicolas Maduro's deputy.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:02–0:34
2
How will the Trump administration’s plan force Big Tech to fund new power plants?
0:34–1:07
3
What is a PJM emergency auction and how would it change data center power procurement?
1:07–2:01
4
Why are state regulators pushing back against federal oversight of data-center grid connections?
2:01–2:31
5
Why is Canada pivoting toward China and what deals were struck on EVs and agriculture?
2:31–3:24
6
How significant is China as a trading partner for Canada compared with the U.S.?
3:24–4:30
7
What are the limits of U.S. military strikes in influencing Iran’s protest movement?
4:30–5:30
8
What non-military actions could help Iranian protesters, including internet access and aid?
5:30–12:34
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from WSJ What’s News
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