President Biden signs executive order to open up federal land to speed up AI data center construction

Biden wants to open up “frontier AI data centers”

News By Craig Hale published 15 January 2025

(Image credit: Future)

• Biden wants to roll out more powerful AI data centers across the US
• “Frontier AI data centers” will be able to develop powerful AI models
• Operators must also factor in clean energy and security measures

US President Joe Biden has signed an executive order to expedite the construction of data centers in the country.

The order outlines a focus on the development of domestic AI infrastructure, as well as plans for how the White House intends to improve national security while also addressing environmental concerns like clean energy generation.

Key to the order is that the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy must each identify three suitable sites for so-called “frontier AI data centers” by early 2025.

Biden wants the US to lead the way with AI data centers

The President described “frontier AI data centers” as facilities “capable of being used to develop, within a reasonable time frame, an AI model with characteristics related either to performance or to the computational resources used in its development that approximately match or surpass the state of the art at the time of the AI model’s development.”

As part of the intended data center expansion, President Biden said the operators must match their electricity consumption on an hourly basis with clean energy like geothermal, nuclear, wind, and solar.

Just days before he hands over office to Donald Trump, and in light of ongoing geopolitical tensions, Biden also said campuses should impose stringent physical and cyber security standards, including further along the supply chain.

“The executive order announced today will ensure the United States has the infrastructure — including large-scale data centers and clean power facilities — necessary to maintain America’s competitive advantage and safeguard our national security interests," noted Vice President Kamala Harris.

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