The US President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order to strengthen the nation’s leadership in artificial intelligence. The order ensures infrastructure accessibility for large-scale data centers and emphasizes the development of new clean energy infrastructure.
Joe Biden stressed the order to build the next generation of AI infrastructure carving a way that enhances economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy.
Domestic data centers for training and operating advanced AI models are expected to play a key role in ensuring the safe and secure development of AI. They aim to harness AI for national security purposes while preventing adversaries from accessing powerful systems that could compromise military and national security.
The development of AI infrastructure aims at enhancing national security and global competitiveness, fostering U.S. leadership in clean energy, promoting a competitive technology ecosystem, ensuring affordable consumer prices, creating jobs for workers involved in building AI infrastructure and benefiting communities in proximity to it.
The Executive Order outlines several key actions to expedite the development of AI infrastructure:
Leasing Federal Sites:
The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) will lease and facilitate the private sector in building AI data centers, prioritizing sites with access to high-capacity transmission infrastructure while minimizing adverse impacts on communities, the natural environment, and commercial resources.
Clean Energy Generation:
In addition to enhancing AI infrastructure, the Executive Order focuses on generating new clean energy. Developers selected to build on DOD and DOE sites must provide sufficient clean energy generation to fully meet the electricity demands of their data centers, in compliance with applicable laws.
Streamlined Permitting:
To support this initiative, the DOD and DOE will streamline permitting processes for geothermal projects, promote distributed energy resources, facilitate the siting of clean generation at existing interconnection points, and advocate for the safe and responsible deployment of nuclear energy.
Agencies will explore opportunities to expedite permitting by applying or establishing “categorical exclusions” under the National Environmental Policy Act for infrastructure with minimal environmental impact.
Transmission Development:
The DOE will take necessary steps to coordinate with developers in constructing, financing, facilitating, and planning the upgrade and development of transmission lines to ensure timely infrastructure operations.
In addition, the DOE will gather information, including utility data on transmission congestion, to enhance transmission planning in these regions.
Consumer Protection:
Agencies will conduct a study on the impact of AI data centers on electricity prices, while the DOE will offer technical assistance to state public utility commissions on designing electricity tariffs to connect new large customers with clean energy.
International Collaboration:,
The Department of State will collaborate with international allies and partners to develop strategies and take concrete steps toward establishing reliable and secure AI infrastructure on a global scale.
This effort aims to promote the development of clean energy technologies, such as small modular nuclear reactors; catalyze investment in AI infrastructure; and strengthen data center safety and security.
