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U.S. Smart Infrastructure Initiative to Support AI Growth

Smart Infrastructure

Business Honor
15 January, 2025

President Biden signs executive order to accelerate smart infrastructure for AI growth, focusing on sustainable energy and rapid data center development.

President Joe Biden signed on Tuesday an expansive executive order that takes a step to speed up smart infrastructure development supporting the increasing requirement of AI technologies in the United States. The directive aims to start building large, large-scale data centers and clean power facilities that have been deemed an essential component to run advanced systems of AI that include generative AI models, machine learning toolkits, etc.

This requires the construction of infrastructure to facilitate the fast-paced growth of AI in a way that minimizes negative impacts on the environment, for instance, through rapid and at-scale construction of AI data centers. The executive order requires federal agencies to expedite the permitting process and make federal lands available for building these facilities. It also demands that such facilities be operated on clean energy, such as wind and solar, to fulfill the sustainability targets of the country.

This increased dependence on AI has caused sharp energy consumption rates, which in the year 2028 data centers are predicted to consume as much as 12% of all electricity within this nation. With a Biden executive order, this calls for ways and means that allow the country's AI infrastructure development responsibly with smooth integration into its electric grid to avoid higher rates of electricity by consumers.

The aim of infrastructure development will be to interconnect AI data centers with clean power sources and facilitate their integration with the electric grid. The Department of Energy and the Department of Defense will identify locations for private companies to build such AI data centers designed to meet the high-energy demands of AI systems while considering environmental balances.

This smart infrastructure initiative is part of a much broader effort to position the United States as a global leader in AI while ensuring the technology is developed and deployed responsibly.