Federal Push for AI Data Centers

The U.S. Department of Energy has pinpointed 16 federal sites, including renowned nuclear research facilities like Los Alamos, for potential development of data centers aimed at expediting the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

According to a statement released by the agency, these sites are well-equipped for swift data center construction, featuring existing energy infrastructure and streamlined permitting processes for new energy generation, including nuclear.

This initiative aligns with an executive order issued in January by former President Joe Biden, which aimed to eliminate barriers for AI data center expansion across the nation while encouraging renewable energy use for these power-intensive centers.

While the current administration under President Donald Trump has sought to dismantle various AI policy measures introduced by Biden, he has expressed support for the data center initiative. Trump remarked in January, ‘I’d like to see federal lands opened up for data centers. I think they’re going to be very important.’

Potential sites for the data centers include several national laboratories, emphasizing New Mexico’s Los Alamos and Sandia labs, as well as Oak Ridge in Tennessee. Amidst the tech industry’s growing reliance on data centers for various online services, AI technologies require increasingly robust computational capabilities.

According to a report by the Department of Energy published late last year, electricity consumption by U.S. data centers has tripled in the past decade, with forecasts indicating it could double or triple again by 2028, potentially accounting for up to 12% of the nation’s electricity use.

Under both Trump and Biden’s administrations, momentum has been building to develop new nuclear reactors to generate carbon-free electricity. While Biden’s order stressed the use of clean energy like geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear for AI infrastructure, Trump’s energy department focused primarily on nuclear options, though the agency has outlined a variety of energy sources available at each identified site, including solar arrays and gas turbines.

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