(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden’s administration plans to streamline permitting for geothermal energy development as part of a broader executive order to boost infrastructure for AI data centers, according to people familiar with the matter.
Officials aim to publish the rules within the next week, according to the people, but the timing remains subject to change. The measures include establishing a competitive process for companies to build data centers on federal land, as well as steps to speed approvals for geothermal and nuclear energy development, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private conversations.
Like other regulations published at the end of the Biden administration, it’s possible that President-elect Donald Trump could reverse the new rules with the stroke of a pen once he takes office.
For example, the Trump administration is expected to revoke Biden’s earlier executive order on AI safety and security.
But Trump, like Biden, has identified data center development as a national security priority — and he’s pledged to unleash all forms of energy, including renewables, to support the massive demands of artificial intelligence.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment on Tuesday night.
At a press conference Tuesday, Trump promised to expedite environmental reviews for what could be a $20 billion data center investment by one of his key allies in the Middle East, Damac Group Chairman Hussain Sajwani. “A lot of people don’t realize that AI is going to be a big thing, but you’ll need double the electricity at least that we have right now,” Trump said.
Easing permitting requirements has been a top goal of business leaders like OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang, who have for months been pressing the White House to develop a comprehensive strategy around domestic AI infrastructure. Under Biden’s draft executive order, the Department of the Interior would set up geothermal energy priority zones, people familiar with the matter said, in order to reach a target of total permitted geothermal capacity.
The Departments of Defense and Energy would also identify sites currently owned by federal agencies that could house large-scale data centers, the people said.
Facilities on government land would be subject to both physical and cybersecurity requirements, as well as limits on foreign financing. Companies would have to set aside a small percentage of their data centers’ computing power for national AI research, and they’d also be responsible for infrastructure construction and development costs.
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