PITTSBURGH—President Donald Trump announced about $92 billion in investments in the Pennsylvania region as he led a roundtable discussion on July 15 at Carnegie Mellon University to close out an energy and innovation summit.
“We’re here to announce the largest economic development package in the history of the Commonwealth,” Trump said during opening remarks. “It’s a great day for the people.”
More than 20 companies committed to regional investments in the artificial intelligence (AI), energy, and manufacturing industries, among others.
“Today’s commitments guarantee that the future will be designed and built right here in Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, and I must say, in America,” Trump said.
The summit’s host highlighted a need for bipartisan cooperation to achieve the lofty goals of powering the AI data centers and associated infrastructure and power demands.
“In our different parties, we have plenty of differences, but on this, we agree,” Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) said during an investment panel. “We agree that we need to be at the crossroads of the energy revolution, the AI revolution, and to have a leadership position. We need to show a unified front at the local level, at the state level, at the national level.”
Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro agreed that working across the political aisle is a necessary component of a successful strategy.
“I think if you enter every discussion focused on your differences, you’ll never get anything done,” the governor said during the event. “So when I sit down with my colleagues in the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, House or Senate, what I’m always trying to do is find the areas where we can actually agree and then build upon that.”
Shapiro said stakeholders are finding common ground on a host of issues, including economic development, energy, education, and public safety, among others.
One industry leader warned of a hurdle in Washington.
“This administration is doing everything it can at the federal level to get this done. But … we have a United States Congress that has to do its job, too,” Mike Sommers, American Petroleum Institute president and CEO, said during a panel discussion.
“The other thing that we need is regulatory reform. And, fortunately, we now have a president that’s focused on making sure that we have the regulatory regime in place that provides access to these resources and gives us the ability to explore in places where we haven’t explored before. … We need more access to American energy because that is what is going to be required to win this fight with China over who is going be AI dominant.”
Countering the Chinese regime’s aggressive economic agendas was a recurring topic during the summit.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said China is the “main investor in the climate narrative” because the regime is attempting to hamstring U.S. development efforts.
“They want the fastest runner running the race with our hand tied to our ankles,” Lutnick said.
Many of the presenters and attendees addressed the topic of how to provide the necessary power to run large-scale data centers, with several participants focusing on nuclear energy.
Westinghouse Electric Company announced that it is planning 10 new nuclear reactors set for construction by 2030. The facilities are expected to provide $6 billion in economic impact and produce 15,000 jobs in southwest Pennsylvania.