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Can US afford cost of clean-energy protectionism in race for AI capabilities?_我的网站

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    Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT
Recent media reports have questioned whether a natural gas plant built to power an Amazon data center project in Texas could become the largest climate polluter in the US. The controversy, whatever the eventual outcome, offers a reality check for America's artificial intelligence (AI) drive. 
It exposes a growing contradiction: The US is racing to expand its AI capabilities, yet its protectionist trade policies are making it harder and more costly to access some of the clean-energy technologies needed to sustain that expansion. This raises a broader question: Can an energy-intensive AI race afford the costs of renewable energy protectionism?
The US is entering a new era of rising electricity demand. Data centers, the backbone of the AI economy, are emerging as one of the fastest-growing sources of power consumption. Much of that demand is still being met by fossil fuels: The International Energy Agency reports that natural gas supplies more than 40 percent of the electricity used by data centers in the US, making it their largest source of power. 
So, it's not surprising that the expansion of data centers has raised concerns over their environmental impact and the pressure they could place on local power systems and electricity bills. A Gallup survey conducted in March found that seven in 10 Americans opposed the construction of AI data centers in their local area, including 48 percent who strongly opposed such projects.
The findings point to a broader challenge for the US: The race to develop AI is increasingly becoming a race to meet growing energy needs. Addressing this challenge will require more than advances in computing technology; it will also depend on an energy system capable of delivering large amounts of reliable, affordable and cleaner power. That, in turn, will require faster development and broader deployment of clean-energy technologies, from solar power to energy storage.
Yet in the clean-energy sector, the US has increasingly relied on protectionist trade measures that limit access to cost-competitive products from global markets. The country has placed greater emphasis on expanding domestic manufacturing capacity, but rebuilding entire clean-energy supply chains at home is a costly and time-consuming process. Even if expanded domestic production is achieved, it is likely to come at a higher cost, making the deployment of renewable technologies more expensive and potentially slower.
The solar industry offers a clear illustration of this policy direction. The US has continued to expand trade barriers in the sector. Reuters reported that the US government announced on Thursday a series of price floors and a 15 percent tariff on products made from polysilicon, a raw material used in solar panels.
The challenge lies in the limited scale of the US polysilicon industry. Reuters reported that the country has two polysilicon factories. Against this backdrop, relying on domestic polysilicon production while restricting access to imports runs counter to the goal of expanding solar power in the US. The country risks creating barriers that ultimately constrain its own access to the global supply chains needed for growth.
The pressing issue for the US is the speed at which new power demand is emerging. The expansion of data centers is creating electricity needs that cannot wait for domestic clean-energy capacity to develop gradually. Global supply chains can provide the scale and speed required in the near term. By narrowing access to these sources, the US risks turning clean-energy policy into a drag on the infrastructure needed for its AI race.
The US has placed AI high on its economic and technological agenda. The outcome of this race will matter greatly, as financial markets are also watching whether America can turn its AI efforts into commercial success.
This leaves the US with a difficult choice: Can it afford the cost of clean-energy protectionism while racing to build AI infrastructure? The answer may be no. Trade barriers that limit access to competitive renewable technologies could ultimately become a constraint on the AI expansion that Washington is seeking to accelerate.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]

。    《方块方舟》官方于先前的公告中宣布，将于大型DLC《地下迷城》推出的同时，为玩家带来两项体验优化——全新道具"复活人偶"与"自动读取周围储存箱"功能。此次优化围绕"降低操作负担、尊重玩家时间"展开，官方表示，这标志着《方块方舟》在持续内容更新的同时，正同步推进对核心体验的打磨。

B | 方块方舟           奇幻,           Q版,           即时,           动作,           DIY,           虚幻引擎,           冒险,           养成,           沙盒,           卡通           查看更多立即下载复活人偶——为失败"松绑"，但保持挑战的严肃性在战斗与生存层面，官方推出消耗类道具"复活人偶"。

C | 其意义不在于降低挑战难度，而在于重新定义"失败"的代价：当玩家在遗迹或Boss战中因一次操作失误、一时疏忽而在战斗尾声倒下时，复活人偶提供了就地重整的机会，避免长时间筹备因一次意外而彻底归零。

D | 值得注意的是，这一设计同时体现了团队对挑战性的审慎态度。复活人偶仅限《地下迷城》的遗迹与Boss房场景使用，开放世界不受影响，且不提供无敌状态、无法消除实力差距——它并非允许玩家以消耗方式强行通关的捷径，而是为"势均力敌的偶然失误"保留的容错空间。官方亦明确建议玩家量力而行，将其作为挑战接近成功时的保险，而非越级作战的工具。自动读取周围储存箱——优化沙盒建造体验在沙盒建造层面，官方推出的"自动读取周围储存箱"功能，试图解决的是建造体验中最具普遍性的痛点：材料的存放与携带。传统流程中，玩家需在制作台与仓库之间反复往返，将所需材料逐一取出携带。该功能上线后，制作系统可直接调用角色周围一定范围内的箱子资源，使"取料"环节从建造流程中消失。这一改动看似微小，其意义在于对建造节奏的重塑——玩家可以更连续地沉浸于规划与创作，而非被频繁的开关箱子打断思路。适用范围与官方展望两项优化均随《地下迷城》同步推出，其中自动读取储存箱功能将同步更新至《方块方舟》本体，复活人偶则为DLC专属内容。在官方看来，《地下迷城》带来的全新生物、立体地形与多区域探索，将对玩家的资源管理与战斗应变提出更高要求，而此次优化正是为支撑这一更复杂的冒险体验所做的铺垫。

E | 官方表示，此类"减负"式的体验优化将持续进行，其目标始终如一：让战斗不因意外失败而受挫，让建造不因繁琐操作而疲惫，使冒险家更充分地感受《方块方舟》世界本身的魅力。对《方块方舟》而言，此次优化只是体验打磨过程中的一步。官方表示，此类"减负"式的调整将持续进行，让战斗不因意外失败而受挫，让建造不因繁琐操作而疲惫，使每位冒险家都能把时间留给真正值得探索的内容。

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