US energy department invites AI data center development at Los Alamos and other federal lands
The U.S. Department of Energy said it has identified 16 federal sites, including storied nuclear research laboratories such as Los Alamos, where tech companies could build data centers in a push to accelerate commercial development of artificial intelligence technology. The sites are “uniquely positioned for rapid data center construction, including in-place energy infrastructure with the ability to fast-track permitting for new energy generation such as nuclear,” the agency said in a statement Thursday. The move follows an executive order signed in January by outgoing President Joe Biden that sought to remove hurdles for AI data center expansion in the U.S. while also encouraging those data centers, which require large amounts of electricity, to be powered with renewable energy.
