Trump administration proposes new policy to support expansion of AI infrastructure

According to multiple people familiar with the matter, the Trump administration is preparing a series of administrative measures to accelerate the pace of construction of artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States to cope with the rapid growth of electricity demand and computing resource shortages.

Sources said that these proposed policies will cover multiple key links such as power access, land use and approval processes. Specific measures include: simplifying the process of connecting power generation projects to the grid and accelerating the grid connection queue order of high-maturity projects; at the same time, the federal government plans to open some land managed by the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior for the construction of data centers and related energy facilities.

In terms of licensing approval, the White House is considering launching a nationwide unified Clean Water Act license to avoid the procedural obstacles faced by data center construction companies in applying for licenses separately in various states. This reform is expected to improve the efficiency of large-scale cross-state projects.

Forecast data from Grid Strategies, a power industry consulting firm, shows that between 2024 and 2029, the overall electricity demand in the United States will grow five times the expected rate in 2022. According to a report by Deloitte, by 2035, the demand for electricity from data centers driven by artificial intelligence may increase more than 30 times.

In addition, the White House is discussing setting July 23 as "AI Action Day" to enhance public awareness and create a public opinion foundation for policy introduction.