Biden Reportedly Mulls Executive Action To Fast-Track AI Data Centers, Irking Environmental Groups

Approaching its final month in the White House, the Biden administration is reportedly considering using executive action to speed up the development of data centers needed to support artificial intelligence. The report has raised the hackles of environmental and consumer groups concerned about the adverse impacts of the data center industry’s rapid growth. 

The White House has discussed invoking the Defense Production Act or using other executive actions to help data center developers overcome the energy woes that have limited their ability to keep up with an unprecedented wave of AI-driven demand, Politico’s E&E News reports, citing multiple people familiar with the discussions.  

The exact details of what such executive action would entail haven`t been finalized, but E&E News reported the measures could give data centers priority access to available electricity, exempt AI data centers from certain federal pollution limits and open federal land to AI data center construction. Such directives could take the form of an executive order. ..