Joe Biden signs executive order to speed up construction of artificial intelligence data centers

President Biden today issued an executive order aimed at accelerating the development of artificial intelligence data centers in the United States.

It directs the Departments of Defense (DOD) and Departments of Energy (DOE) to lease federal sites to private companies to build gigawatt-scale artificial intelligence data centers and clean power facilities. It also tells federal agencies to “prioritize” and expedite permitting of artificial intelligence infrastructure. The measure could create “categorical exclusions” to expedite environmental reviews under the National Environmental Protection Act.

Developing new AI tools is an increasingly energy-intensive endeavor. Still, the Biden administration appears to believe it’s worth the risk of further deviating from U.S. climate goals and putting additional pressure on an already strained power grid.

“We will not let America fall behind when it comes to the technologies that will define our future,” Joe Biden said in a statement today.

Ahead of today's announcement, environmental and consumer rights groups and Democratic lawmakers urged the White House to avoid excluding artificial intelligence from typical permitting processes and environmental standards in response to reports that the White House was considering steps to speed up data center development.

“We urge you to reconsider any decision that may result in Potential Executive Actions to Combat Increased Pollution and Higher Costs for Consumers,” Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) reported to the Biden Administration on December 17. “We are the United States of America; there is no question that we can win the AI ​​race while accelerating decarbonization efforts,” it reads.

Data center power demand has tripled over the past decade, according to estimates released by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on December 20. That number could double or triple again by 2028, the report said. In 2023, data centers will consume approximately 4.4% of U.S. electricity, and this number may rise to 12% by 2028.

The increase in demand is a result of the immense computing power required to train AI models. Utilities are already extending the lives of polluting coal and natural gas infrastructure to meet soaring power demand. As a result, customers also face rising electricity bills.

Developers of new artificial intelligence data centers on federal land will be required to “pay all costs of building and operating artificial intelligence infrastructure so that this development does not increase electricity prices for consumers,” the White House said.

This includes building the data center itself as well as the power facilities and transmission lines. The company will be responsible for procuring the power used by the data center from new “clean” power sources. They must also assess the security implications of artificial intelligence models developed at federal sites and purchase an “appropriate share” of U.S.-made semiconductors.

“In the race to dominate artificial intelligence, we cannot lose sight of the real race to stop pollution from warming the planet and damaging our health,” said Johanna Neumann, senior director at the Environmental Research and Policy Center .” Statement on December 19.

Neumann argued The focus should be on ensuring that new computing facilities are more efficient and run on renewable electricity. “Without these guardrails, AI's insatiable thirst for energy could undermine U.S. efforts to transition away from dirty and dangerous fossil fuels,” Neumann added.

The government already leases federal lands for energy production, including fossil fuel exploration and renewable energy projects. According to the executive order, by February 28, the secretaries of defense and energy should identify at least three sites on land managed by their respective departments to host new artificial intelligence data centers.