The Trump administration will build artificial intelligence data centers on 16 Department of Energy sites, aiming to boost U.S. AI infrastructure amid power and space constraints.
Ashleigh Fields reports for The Hill.
In short:
- The Department of Energy announced it will use federal land to host 16 AI data centers, drawing on national labs and private-sector partnerships.
- The plan follows two Trump executive orders focused on enhancing domestic AI capacity and energy independence, with operations expected to begin by 2027.
- Trump previously announced a $500 billion private investment push involving companies like Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank to support the AI sector’s power demands.
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.”
— Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy
Why this matters:
As tech companies race to train ever-larger AI models and serve real-time results, they lean heavily on sprawling data centers — warehouses of servers that run nonstop, consuming electricity on par with small cities. That has put pressure on local grids, drawn scrutiny over siting decisions, and prompted a broader reckoning over the environmental footprint of the digital economy. The U.S. Department of Energy’s decision to use federal land for AI infrastructure could ease permitting bottlenecks and streamline development, but it also raises concerns about emissions, water use, and whether communities near these sites will share in the economic benefits or bear the environmental burdens.
Related: AI data centers could rival California's vehicle pollution by 2030
