The White House on July 23 released “America’s AI Action Plan,” a comprehensive action plan intended to increase U.S. development of artificial intelligence.
The plan includes dozens of policy recommendations across the government, including topics like AI workforce, AI regulation, and AI diplomacy. Notably, for public power is Pillar II: Build American AI Infrastructure, which addresses barriers to building AI data centers and semiconductor manufacturing, and the necessary electric infrastructure to support it.
The plan specifically recommends “Streamlined Permitting for Data Centers, Semiconductor Manufacturing Facilities, and Energy Infrastructure while Guaranteeing Security,” including:
- Establishing new Categorical Exclusions (CEs) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to cover data center-related actions that normally do not have a significant effect on the environment, including adopting relevant CEs established by other federal agencies to increase efficiency;
- Expanding the use of the FAST-41 process to cover all data centers and data center energy projects eligible under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act of 2015;
- Exploring the need for a nationwide Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for data centers that, if adopted, would not require a Pre-Construction Notification and would cover development sites consistent with typical AI data centers;
- Expediting environmental permitting by streamlining or reducing regulations promulgated under the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and other relevant laws;
- Making Federal lands available for data center construction and the construction of power generation infrastructure for those data centers by directing agencies with significant land portfolios to identify sites suited to large-scale development;
- Maintaining security guardrails to prohibit adversaries from inserting sensitive inputs into this infrastructure by ensuring that the domestic AI computing stack is built on American products and that the infrastructure that supports AI development, such as energy and telecommunications, is free from foreign adversary information and communications technology and services (ICTS), including software and relevant hardware; and
- Expanding efforts to apply AI to accelerate and improve environmental reviews, such as through expanding the number of agencies participating in DOE’s PermitAI project.
Also in Pillar II, recommendations under “Develop a Grid to Match the Pace of AI Innovation,” call for:
- Stabilizing the grid of today as much as possible. This initial phase acknowledges the need to safeguard existing assets and ensures an uninterrupted and affordable supply of power. The United States must prevent the premature decommissioning of critical power generation resources and explore innovative ways to harness existing capacity, such as leveraging extant backup power sources to bolster grid reliability during peak demand. A key element of this stabilization is to ensure every corner of the electric grid is in compliance with nationwide standards for resource adequacy and sufficient power generation capacity is consistently available across the country;
- Optimizing existing grid resources as much as possible. This involves implementing strategies to enhance the efficiency and performance of the transmission system. The United States must explore solutions like advanced grid management technologies and upgrades to power lines that can increase the amount of electricity transmitted along existing routes. Furthermore, the United States should investigate new and novel ways for large power consumers to manage their power consumption during critical grid periods to enhance reliability and unlock additional power on the system;
- Prioritizing the interconnection of reliable, dispatchable power sources as quickly as possible and embrace new energy generation sources at the technological frontier (e.g., enhanced geothermal, nuclear fission, and nuclear fusion); reform power markets to align financial incentives with the goal of grid stability, ensuring that investment in power generation reflects the system’s needs; and
- Creating a strategic blueprint for navigating the complex energy landscape of the 21st century by stabilizing the grid of today, optimizing existing grid resources, and growing the grid for the future, the United States can rise to the challenge of winning the AI race while also delivering a reliable and affordable power grid for all Americans.
Finally, under the “Bolster Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” heading, the plan calls for the establishment of an AI Information Sharing and Analysis Center, to promote the sharing of AI-security threat information and intelligence across U.S. critical infrastructure sectors.
It also emphasizes the need to build high-security data centers for military and intelligence use, which could impact public power utilities serving those types of entities.
