Donald Trump’s rollback of clean energy incentives has derailed nearly $19bn worth of renewable energy projects this year, raising concerns over the US’s ability to meet soaring power demand from the artificial intelligence boom.

Projects worth $18.6bn have been cancelled in 2025, compared with just $827mn a year earlier, according to Atlas Public Policy’s Clean Economy Tracker, the Financial Times reports. Investment announcements have fallen by nearly 20% to $15.8bn, down from $20.9bn in the same period of 2024.

Since returning to office in January, the US president has eliminated tax credits, grants and loans introduced under the Biden administration. His administration has also tightened permitting requirements for wind and solar projects and imposed restrictions on firms with supply chains reliant on China. Most recently, the Trump administration has gutted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of its authority to regulate and promote green investments, effectively ending the US effort to green its energy production

China takes the lead

The US stance contrasts strongly with that of China that has embraced the green revolution and is now the global green energy champion. Two thirds of all solar panels are now in China and it is the first major economy to see its emissions begin to fall. That is good for the environment, but more importantly, China is producing a massive excess of power generation capacity that will allow it to dominate the power hungry data centre business.

Artificial intelligence is colliding with the physics of the grid. The winner will be the country that can deliver vast amounts of cheap, reliable electricity close to where data is processed.

China currently has the lead on raw build-out. In 2024 it added 373GW of renewable capacity, including 278GW of solar and 79.8GW of wind, according to the National Energy Administration. Beijing plans another 200GW+ of renewables in 2025.

By contrast, the US is expanding too, but at a slower clip. Developers added a record 30GW of utility-scale solar in 2024 and the EIA expects ~32.5–33GW more in 2025. Industry tallies that include rooftops put 2024 solar additions nearer 50GW. Battery storage is the bright spot: the US installed 10.4GW in 2024 and could add 18.2GW this year, according to official statistics.

The US additions are not enough to keep pace with the exploding demand. This year the construction of data centres is expected to overtake the construction of office real estate space for the first time ever. The International Energy Agency (IEA) says electricity use by data centres is “set to more than double” to about 945TWh by 2030, with AI the dominant driver. In the US, official forecasts now assume rising power consumption in 2025–26, reversing a decade of flat demand.

·        China new renewables (2024): 373GW (solar 278GW, wind 79.8GW). 2025 plan: 200GW+.

·        US new solar (2024/25): 30GW utility-scale in 2024; ~32.5–33GW expected in 2025; ~50GW total across all segments in 2024.

·        US battery storage: ~10.4GW added in 2024; ~18.2GW expected in 2025.

·        China new energy storage: ~42GW/101GWh added in 2024.

·        Global datacentre demand: ~945TWh by 2030 (IEA)

US drops the renewables ball

China and the US have made two fundamentally different bets. Beijing is rolling out clean and cheap renewable energy, whereas under US President Donald Trump, the US is focused on expanding traditional fossil fuel powered generation capacity.

Both countries also have significant nuclear power generating capacity, but here too China has the lead and is 10-15 years ahead of the US and France in the development of fourth generation reactors. Moreover, China has access to plentiful supplies of refined uranium, whereas the US is still heavily dependent on supplies from Russia.

“Renewables can be built and connected in a matter of a year or two, in a way that meets data centre developers’ timelines,” Advait Arun, energy policy analyst at the Center for Public Interest, told the FT. “If you’re ignoring renewables, then you’re missing a key part of the equation.”

The US cuts have triggered a wave of bankruptcies, with 11 renewable energy groups filing since January, according to reports. The Department of Energy said it was “leveraging all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable and secure to ensure the United States is able to win the AI race and reindustrialise.”

As part of Trump’s strangulation of renewables, new guidance was issued on August 15 that requires projects to begin physical construction by July 2026 in order to qualify for the old subsidies that have developers racing to secure tax credits before stricter Treasury rules take effect.

US Residential solar has been hit particularly hard, with incentives due to expire later this year. Wood Mackenzie warned installations could fall as much as 46% by 2030.

At state level, more than a third of bills debated this year sought to restrict renewable deployment, though only 5% passed.

While Beijing has put the green revolution at the heart of its next five-year plan, Washington is ideologically opposed to it. Energy secretary Chris Wright criticised renewables as “parasite[s] on the grid.” His department has cut $3.7bn in grants, while $8.5bn in loans have been cancelled or left at risk. BloombergNEF now forecasts onshore wind additions to total 30 gigawatts by 2030, 50% below earlier projections, while Kayrros satellite data show daily utility-scale solar installations have fallen 44% since Trump took office, reports the FT.

On volume and speed, China is already clearly ahead. It is adding far more clean capacity each year, backing it with long-distance transmission and rapidly scaling storage. That combination gives Beijing a stronger near-term hand to supply AI clusters with low-carbon power at scale.