US national labs identified as potential AI sites
The US Department of Energy has announced plans to co-locate data centres and new energy infrastructure on its lands, and identified 16 potential sites it says are uniquely positioned for rapid data centre construction.
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The list of sites is included in a Request for Information to inform possible use of Department of Energy (DOE) land for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure development, which says they are "uniquely positioned for rapid data centre construction, including in-place energy infrastructure with the ability to fast-track permitting for new energy generation such as nuclear". The list includes national laboratories, defence-related sites and the sites of two former federally-owned uranium enrichment plants.
The plans are in accordance with executive orders on Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence and Unleashing American Energy Executive Orders signed earlier this year by President Donald Trump. They were announced by Energy Secretary Chris Wright during a visit to the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) laboratory in Golden, Colorado, who said the global race for AI dominance is "the next Manhattan project".
The DOE said it was seeking input from data centre developers, energy developers, and the broader public to further advance this partnership. The information collected will be used to inform development, encourage private-public partnerships and enable the construction of AI infrastructure at select DOE sites, targeting the start of operation by the end of 2027. The Request for Information also aims to gather information on potential development approaches, technology solutions, operational models, and economic considerations associated with establishing AI infrastructure.
In March, Wright announced actions to ease permitting rules and regulations for construction projects at the national laboratories, which DOE said would accelerate "much-needed critical infrastructure improvement projects" while saving "hundreds of millions" of taxpayer dollars.
The sixteen sites in the RFI are:
- Idaho National Laboratory
- Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
- Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
- Argonne National Laboratory
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
- National Energy Technology Laboratory
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
- Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
- Los Alamos National Laboratory
- Sandia National Laboratories
- Savannah River Site
- Pantex Plant
- Kansas City National Security Campus
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