Joe Biden signs executive order accelerating construction of AI data center

President Biden issued an executive order executive order today aims to accelerate the development of AI data centers in the US.

Directs the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to lease federal lands to private companies that build gigawatt AI data centers and immaculate energy facilities. It also directs federal agencies to “prioritize” and accelerate permitting of artificial intelligence infrastructure. This measure could create “categorical exclusions” to expedite the environmental review under the Environmental Protection Act.

Developing recent artificial intelligence tools is an increasingly energy-intensive endeavor. Nevertheless, the Biden administration appears to believe it is worth the risk of further derailing U.S. climate goals and putting additional pressure on already stressed energy grids.

“We will not allow America to be surpassed when it comes to the technology that will define the future,” Joe Biden said in a statement today.

Before today’s announcement – ​​v reply to reports that the White House was considering measures to accelerate data center development — environmental AND consumer advocacy groups as well as Democratic legislators urged the White House to avoid exempting AI from typical permitting procedures and environmental standards.

“We urge you to reconsider any potential enforcement actions that could lead to increased pollution and costs for consumers,” says a letter sent by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Peter Welch (D-VT) to the Biden Administration on December 17. “We are the United States of America; There is no doubt that we can win the AI ​​race while accelerating our decarbonization efforts.

According to estimates, data center demand for electricity has tripled over the past decade published by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) on December 20. The report shows that this number will likely double or triple again by 2028. In 2023, data centers consumed approximately 4.4% of U.S. electricity, and by 2028 this could increase to as much as 12%.

This increase in demand is due to the enormous computing power needed to train artificial intelligence models. Utilities are already extending the life of pollutants coal AND gas infrastructure to meet the rapidly growing demand for electricity. Customers are also struggling rising electricity bills as a result.

According to the White House, developers building new AI data centers on federal lands will be required to “bear all costs of building and operating AI infrastructure to ensure this investment does not result in higher electricity prices for consumers.”

This includes construction of the data center itself, as well as power facilities and transmission lines. Companies will be responsible for obtaining the electricity used by data centers from new sources of “clean” electricity. They will also have to assess the safety impact of artificial intelligence models developed at federal facilities and purchase an “appropriate share” of American-made semiconductors.

“In the race for AI supremacy, we cannot lose sight of the very real race to stop the pollutants that are warming our planet and harming our health,” said Johanna Neumann, senior director at the Environment America Research & Policy Center. December 19 statement.

Neumann argued that the focus should be on ensuring greater efficiency of new computing facilities and their powering with renewable energy. “Without these guardrails, AI’s insatiable thirst for energy could undermine America’s efforts to transition away from dirty and dangerous fossil fuels,” he added. Neumann added.

Already the government leases federal land for energy productionincluding fossil fuel exploration and renewable energy projects. Under executive orderby February 28, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy are to find at least three locations to house recent AI data centers on lands managed by their departments.