White House issues order opening federal land to AI data centers

The Biden administration issued an executive order on Tuesday that will allow private sector AI companies to lease federal sites where the U.S. can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale…The order said in part: “The United States leads the world at the frontier of artificial intelligence (AI). Cutting-edge AI will have profound implications for national security and enormous potential to improve Americans’ lives if harnessed responsibly, from helping cure disease to keeping communities safe by mitigating the effects of climate change. However, we cannot take our lead for granted. We will not let America be out-built when it comes to the technology that will define the future, nor should we sacrifice critical environmental standards and our shared efforts to protect clean air and clean water. That is why today, I am signing an historic Executive Order to accelerate the speed at which we build the next generation of AI infrastructure here in America, in a way that enhances economic competitiveness, national security, AI safety, and clean energy. This Executive Order will direct the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to lease federal sites where the private sector can build frontier AI infrastructure at speed and scale. These efforts are designed to accelerate the clean energy transition in a way that is responsible and respectful to local communities, and in a way that does not impose any new costs on American families. These efforts also will help position America to lead the world in clean energy deployment in the context of strategic competition abroad. Some of this new capacity will also be committed for use by small businesses and startups. This renewed partnership between the government and industry will ensure that the United States will continue to lead the age of AI.” The Fly notes that publicly traded companies associated with artificial intelligence or AI, and other possible AI infrastructure firms include: HASI (HASI), First Solar (FSLR), NextEra Energy (NEE), Nvidia (NVDA), Microsoft (MSFT), Palantir (PLTR) (PLTR ), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC)…