White House Weighs Federal Land and Fast-Tracked Permits to Drive AI Boom: Reuters

In brief

Reuters reports that President Trump is weighing executive orders to support AI growth through energy and infrastructure changes.
Proposals include fast-tracking power projects and using federal land for data centers.
Rising AI energy demands are straining the grid, with U.S. electricity use climbing faster than expected.

The Trump administration is considering a series of executive orders aimed at expanding the infrastructure necessary to support the growth of artificial intelligence, according to a report by Reuters on Friday.

The proposed actions, still unconfirmed by the White House, reportedly include measures to ease access to the power grid, streamline permitting processes, and open federal land for the construction of large-scale data centers.

Reuters, citing sources familiar with internal discussions, reported that one proposal would prioritize existing energy projects for faster grid connection. Another would allow the use of land managed by the Department of the Interior, potentially bypassing traditional zoning and permitting hurdles.

The Department of the Interior did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

The moves come as the U.S. accelerates AI infrastructure development to counter rising competition from China, fueling a surge in energy demand.

In January, Trump signed an executive order to “remove barriers to American leadership in artificial intelligence,” reversing Biden-era policies that sought to curb rapid AI expansion. At the same time, Trump announced the Stargate initiative, spearheaded by Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI, would allocate $500 billion in funding towards AI infrastructure development.

“Stargate will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States and move very quickly to create over 100,000 American jobs,” Trump said during a press conference. “This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president.”

According to a separate report by Deloitte, power demand from AI data centers alone is expected to grow more than thirtyfold, from 4 gigawatts in 2024 to 123 gigawatts by 2035. In 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that the average U.S. home used 10,791 kilowatt-hours per year. That means 4 gigawatts could power about 3.25 million homes annually.

Major tech firms are rapidly expanding their AI infrastructure across the U.S., with Amazon investing $20 billion in data centers in Pennsylvania and an additional $10 billion in North Carolina. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s xAI is building a massive supercomputer facility in Memphis, Tennessee, which has sparked legal challenges after the NAACP threatened to sue the Grok developer over alleged Clean Air Act violations related to its AI data center.

The White House did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.