US Plans to Develop AI Projects on Energy Department Lands

WASHINGTON, April 3 (Reuters) – The administration of President Donald Trump said on Thursday it has identified 16 potential sites on U.S. Department of Energy lands where data centers and power plants supporting the boom in artificial intelligence can be developed.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Rapid growth in AI is leading to the first boom in U.S. power demand for two decades sending Big Tech and utility companies scrambling to build new data centers and power plants.

The DOE said the potential sites are positioned for rapid data center construction, including in-place energy infrastructure with the ability to fast-track permitting for new energy generation such as nuclear reactors.

It was not immediately clear how nuclear power, which is regulated by the independent Nuclear Regulatory Commission, would be fast-tracked.

KEY QUOTE

“The global race for AI dominance is the next Manhattan project, and with President Trump’s leadership and the innovation of our National Labs, the United States can and will win,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, referring to the secret U.S. project to develop the world’s first nuclear weapon during World War Two.

BACKGROUND

The DOE is one of the top land managers in the United States. The 16 sites include the Idaho National Laboratory, and facilities in Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio, both of which produced enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and commercial reactors.

The DOE said under former President Joe Biden it had identified sites across five states including Washington, Nevada and South Carolina, that could eventually host clean energy projects including solar, wind and nuclear power.

That DOE land had to be cleaned up after being contaminated by development of nuclear weapons and other Cold War-era work.

WHAT’S NEXT?

DOE is encouraging private-public partnerships seeking input from data center developers, energy developers, and the public. It aims to enable construction of AI infrastructure to begin operations by late 2027.

Reporting by Timothy Gardner;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Marguerita Choy