The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has designated 16 federal sites, including prominent national laboratories such as Los Alamos, Sandia, and Oak Ridge, as potential locations for constructing data centers aimed at advancing artificial intelligence (AI) development. These sites are strategically chosen due to their existing energy infrastructure and the potential for expedited permitting processes, particularly for nuclear energy projects.
This initiative follows a January executive order by former President Joe Biden to promote AI-related infrastructure while advancing clean energy use. Although President Donald Trump reversed several of Biden’s AI policies upon returning to office, he endorsed the move to open federal lands for data centers.
Modern AI systems require significantly more computational power, contributing to a tripling of U.S. data center electricity use over the past decade. Projections suggest that data centers could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity by 2028. The DOE's statement under the Trump administration emphasizes nuclear energy, although it also presents a range of energy sources available per site, including solar and gas turbines.
The broader goal is to ensure the sustainable and rapid development of AI technologies through strategically located, energy-efficient data centers. This development underscores the growing importance of AI infrastructure and the need for robust energy solutions to support its expansion.