AI vs clean air: Is the tech boom derailing America’s most polluted cities?

The surge in electricity demand driven by artificial intelligence is breathing new life into the American coal industry, a shift that activists say comes at the cost of public health in the nation’s most vulnerable neighborhoods. Following President Donald Trump's executive order to “reinvigorate” the coal sector, the administration has rolled back 2024 soot standards that were set to take effect in 2027.

The move aims to support an estimated 50 gigawatts of new power demand from data centers by 2030-a 4% increase in total US capacity. Meanwhile, the policy reversal has hit residents of North St. Louis particularly hard. Barbara Johnson, a 75-year-old activist, had hoped federal limits would finally force the nearby Labadie Energy Center to cut emissions. 

Instead, Labadie and other aging plants are kept online by federal emergency orders to prevent grid instability. The shift back to coal disproportionately impacts minority communities. 78% of African Americans live within 30 miles of a coal plant compared to 56% of non-Hispanic Whites. In 2025, St. Louis residents enjoyed good air on only one-third of days, ranking the city 475th out of 501 US metro areas.

AI boom is outpacing green transitions

While data center trade groups argue they are top purchasers of clean energy, the sheer scale of the AI boom is outpacing green transitions. Ameren, the utility serving St.Louis, recently signed contracts for 2.3 gigawatts of new data center demand-roughly the entire output of the Labadie coal plant. As the administration prioritizes “baseload power” to heat homes and fuel the AI revolution, activists worry the health of industrial neighborhoods is being permanently traded for technological growth.