US Department of Energy Identifies 16 Federal Sites for AI Data Center Development

US DoE wants devs to fast-track domestic AI datacenters

But Bernstein analysts say tariffs could disrupt equipment supply chains The US Department of Energy (DoE) is looking to co-locate datacenters with energy generation facilities to further America's AI ambitions, and is putting up its own land for this purpose. The DoE says it is acting in accordance with executive orders issued by President Trump soon after his inauguration relating to energy and removing barriers to AI development. In line with this, it has identified 16 potential sites for fast-track datacenter construction located on federal land. Ironically, Trump's new reciprocal tariffs could disrupt efforts to expand artificial intelligence infrastructure, potentially undermining the administration's objectives. Analysts have reportedly warned that tech giants including that have committed to significant AI investments may face challenges as the tariffs target major equipment suppliers from countries such as China, Taiwan, and South Korea. The steep duties, including a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports, will increase the cost of essential electronics like smartphones, PCs, and datacenter equipment - a category accounting for nearly $486 billion in imports last year. Some sites already have energy infrastructure in place and could streamline permission for new energy facilities such as nuclear generators to be constructed. Among the sites shortlisted are some of America's world-famous national research laboratories overseen by the DoE, including Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, Argonne, Sandia, Fermi, and Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. The Department says it is seeking input from datacenter developers, energy firms, and others to advance this project, and the information collected will inform the construction of dedicated AI facilities at selected sites. There is an ambitious target for construction to start by the end of this year, with some facilities expected to be operational by the end of 2027. US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claimed it was vital for America to be the leader in AI, and likened it to the Second World War race to build the atomic bomb. "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," Wright said. "With today's action, the Department of Energy is taking important steps to leverage our domestic resources to power the AI revolution, while continuing to deliver affordable, reliable, and secure energy to the American people." The DoE hopes to foster public-private partnerships, offering industry a chance to partner with those world-class research facilities, with the aim of advancing both the power systems to run the centers and next-generation datacenter hardware. More details are available in a Request for Information (RFI) published by the DoE. A report [PDF] produced by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory late last year found that datacenters in the US consumed about 4.4 percent of the country's total electricity supply during 2023, and forecast this could reach 12 percent by 2028. The report points the finger squarely at AI for this, saying that power demand from bit barns more than doubled between 2017 and 2023, largely due to the growth in AI-capable servers to train models. America isn't the only country in a hurry to throw up lots more faceless concrete data facilities; in January, the British government unveiled its AI Opportunities Action Plan, which enables the creation of "AI Growth Zones" featuring streamlined planning processes for building bit barns and priority access to the power grid. ®

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. Energy Department lands where data centers and power plants to support 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. 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 Energy Department is one of the top land managers in the United States. The department did not immediately respond to a question about where the 16 sites are. 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 Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial IntelligenceGrid & InfrastructureNuclear Timothy Gardner Thomson Reuters Timothy reports on energy and environment policy and is based in Washington, D.C. His coverage ranges from the latest in nuclear power, to environment regulations, to U.S. sanctions and geopolitics. He has been a member of three teams in the past two years that have won Reuters best journalism of the year awards. As a cyclist he is happiest outside.

U.S. energy department invites AI data center development at Los Alamos and other federal lands

The U.S. Department of Energy said it has identified 16 federal sites, including storied nuclear research laboratories such as Los Alamos, where tech companies could build data centers in a push to accelerate commercial development of artificial intelligence technology. The sites are "uniquely 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," the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy. While President Donald Trump has since sought to erase most of Biden's signature AI policies, he made clear after returning to the White House that he had no interest in rescinding Biden's data center order. "I'd like to see federal lands opened up for data centers," Trump said in January. "I think they're going to be very important." The lands identified as potential sites include a number of national laboratories, such as the New Mexico-centered Los Alamos and Sandia laboratories and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. While the tech industry has long relied on data centers to run online services, from email and social media to financial transactions, new AI technology behind popular chatbots and generative AI tools requires even more powerful computation to build and operate. A report released by the Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity. The United States, under both presidents, has been speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of nuclear reactors to supply carbon-free electricity. While Biden's executive order focused on powering AI infrastructure with clean energy sources such as "geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear," Thursday's statement from Trump's energy department focused only on nuclear. But in a lengthy request for information posted on data center and energy developers, it outlines a variety of electricity sources available at each site, from solar arrays to gas turbines.

US energy department invites AI data center development at Los Alamos and other federal lands

The U.S. Department of Energy said it has identified 16 federal sites, including storied nuclear research laboratories such as Los Alamos, where tech companies could build data centers in a push to accelerate commercial development of artificial intelligence technology. The sites are "uniquely 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," the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy. While President Donald Trump has since sought to erase most of Biden's signature AI policies, he made clear after returning to the White House that he had no interest in rescinding Biden's data center order. "I'd like to see federal lands opened up for data centers," Trump said in January. "I think they're going to be very important." The lands identified as potential sites include a number of national laboratories, such as the New Mexico-centered Los Alamos and Sandia laboratories and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. A report released by the Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity. The United States, under both presidents, has been speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of nuclear reactors to supply carbon-free electricity. While Biden's executive order focused on powering AI infrastructure with clean energy sources such as "geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear," Thursday's statement from Trump's energy department focused only on nuclear. But in a lengthy request for information sought from data center and energy developers, the agency outlines a variety of electricity sources available at each site, from solar arrays to gas turbines. © 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

U.S. energy department invites AI data center development at Los Alamos and other federal lands

The U.S. Department of Energy said it has identified 16 federal sites, including storied nuclear research laboratories such as Los Alamos, where tech companies could build data centers in a push to accelerate commercial development of artificial intelligence technology. The sites are "uniquely 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," the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy. While President Donald Trump has since sought to erase most of Biden's signature AI policies, he made clear after returning to the White House that he had no interest in rescinding Biden's data center order. "I'd like to see federal lands opened up for data centers," Trump said in January. "I think they're going to be very important." The lands identified as potential sites include a number of national laboratories, such as the New Mexico-centered Los Alamos and Sandia laboratories and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. While the tech industry has long relied on data centers to run online services, from email and social media to financial transactions, new AI technology behind popular chatbots and generative AI tools requires even more powerful computation to build and operate. A report released by the Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity. The United States, under both presidents, has been speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of nuclear reactors to supply carbon-free electricity. While Biden's executive order focused on powering AI infrastructure with clean energy sources such as "geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear," Thursday's statement from Trump's energy department focused only on nuclear. But in a lengthy request for information posted on data center and energy developers, it outlines a variety of electricity sources available at each site, from solar arrays to gas turbines.

US Energy Department Invites AI Data Center Development at Los Alamos and Other Federal Lands

The U.S. Department of Energy said it has identified 16 federal sites, including storied nuclear research laboratories such as Los Alamos, where tech companies could build data centers in a push to accelerate commercial development of artificial intelligence technology. The sites are "uniquely 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," the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy. While President Donald Trump has since sought to erase most of Biden's signature AI policies, he made clear after returning to the White House that he had no interest in rescinding Biden's data center order. "I'd like to see federal lands opened up for data centers," Trump said in January. "I think they're going to be very important." The lands identified as potential sites include a number of national laboratories, such as the New Mexico-centered Los Alamos and Sandia laboratories and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. While the tech industry has long relied on data centers to run online services, from email and social media to financial transactions, new AI technology behind popular chatbots and generative AI tools requires even more powerful computation to build and operate. A report released by the Department of Energy late last year estimated that the electricity needed for data centers in the U.S. tripled over the past decade and is projected to double or triple again by 2028 when it could consume up to 12% of the nation's electricity. The United States, under both presidents, has been speeding up efforts to license and build a new generation of nuclear reactors to supply carbon-free electricity. While Biden's executive order focused on powering AI infrastructure with clean energy sources such as "geothermal, solar, wind, and nuclear," Thursday's statement from Trump's energy department focused only on nuclear. But in a lengthy request for information sought from data center and energy developers, the agency outlines a variety of electricity sources available at each site, from solar arrays to gas turbines. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

US Plans to Develop AI Projects on Energy Department Lands

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The administration of President Donald Trump said on Thursday it has identified 16 potential sites on U.S. Energy Department lands where data centers and power plants to support 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. 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 Energy Department is one of the top land managers in the United States. The department did not immediately respond to a question about where the 16 sites are. 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)

Trump administration announces plans to build AI data centers on federal land

The Trump administration identified 16 sites for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) data centers Thursday on land owned by the Department of Energy. The centers comprise rows of servers providing processing capacity for machine learning, cloud storage and AI systems that require massive amounts of electricity and computing power. "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," Secretary of Energy Chris Wright said in a Thursday statement. "With today's action, the Department of Energy is taking important steps to leverage our domestic resources to power the AI revolution, while continuing to deliver affordable, reliable and secure energy to the American people." The department said they hope to start operations at the center by the end of 2027, with input from data center developers, energy investors and the broader public. The Energy Department said the effort was spurred on by two of the president's executive orders, focusing the government's resources on bolstering American AI and energy. The new measures to develop data centers come after a Biden administration executive order intended to curb barriers to the construction of new data centers. "Currently, the market for AI infrastructure is deeply constrained," Navtej Dhillon, deputy director of former President Biden's White House Economic Council, told reporters on a call in January. "Not only are these investments capital intensive, but power constraints and powering challenges result in long lead times to bring data centers to market." During his first days back at the White House, Trump announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for artificial intelligence. Trump referenced the enormous power needs during an event on Jan. 21 announcing the investments from companies including SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle. "They have to produce a lot of electricity, and we'll make it possible for them to get that production done very easily at their own plants if they want," Trump said.

Energy Department Invites AI Development at Los Alamos and Other Federal Lands

The sites are "uniquely 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," the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy. While President Donald Trump has since sought to erase most of Biden's signature AI policies, he made clear after returning to the White House that he had no interest in rescinding Biden's data center order.

US plans to develop AI projects on Energy Department lands

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