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The White House today released a 23-page “AI Action Plan,” aimed at asserting the United States’ leadership in artificial intelligence. The document features familiar calls to support the rapid growth of chip factories and AI data centers – as well as the energy infrastructure to power them.
The plan aims to speed up permitting and loosen environmental regulation to accelerate construction on all of the above. The report includes policy recommendations, such as expanding categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for data center development and broadening the FAST-41 permitting process to cover data center and data center energy projects. Another recommendation is to expedite environmental permitting by simplifying or reducing regulations under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other related laws. Making federal land available for data centers and associated power infrastructure is also recommended.
The Trump administration has spurned renewables in favor of dispatchable generation sources like gas, nuclear, and coal. The report recommends prioritizing the interconnection of reliable, dispatchable power sources as quickly as possible and embracing emerging technologies, citing enhanced geothermal and nuclear fusion among them. Similarly, the report says the U.S. must “prevent the premature decommissioning of critical power generation resources.”
The action plan calls for the U.S. power grid to be modernized to keep pace with AI innovation. This includes exploring solutions like advanced grid management technologies and upgrades to power lines that can increase the amount of electricity transmitted along existing routes. The country should also investigate new and novel ways for large power consumers to manage their power consumption during critical grid periods to enhance reliability and unlock additional power on the grid, the report says.
A further unveiling of the report later Wednesday is expected to feature members of All-In Podcast. The show features tech moguls who have supported Trump and pushed for this agenda, including the president’s AI czar, David Sacks.
