President Trump signed an Executive Order “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Infrastructure” to facilitate the buildout of data center infrastructure. Among other things, the EO: (1) directs the Commerce Department to launch an initiative to provide financial support, such as loans, grants, and tax incentives, for infrastructure projects related to data center energy needs, semiconductor facilities, networking equipment, or other data center or related infrastructure projects selected by the Departments of Commerce, Defense, Interior or Energy; (2) instructs federal agencies to streamline environmental reviews and permitting for data centers and related infrastructure; (3) promotes the use of Brownfield and Superfund sites for data center development; and (4) directs the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Interior to authorize data center construction on appropriate federal lands.
