The Trump administration’s efforts to satisfy the United States’ need for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure further advanced when the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE or department) issued an anticipated Request for Information (RFI) on siting AI infrastructure on DOE-owned or DOE-managed land assets in support of future competitive solicitations. This RFI, issued on April 7, 2025, identifies 16 sites that may be suitable for AI infrastructure. In the RFI, DOE outlines an ambitious goal of seeking to enable construction of AI infrastructure on its lands by the end of 2025 and start operations at data center sites with co-located energy technologies by the end of 2027. Responses to the RFI are requested by May 7, 2025.
The RFI not only supports President Trump’s priorities set forth in Executive Order 14179 and Executive Order 14156 but it is also largely consistent with former President Biden’s Executive Order 14141, which directed DOE and the U.S. Department of Defense to identify sites for data centers in order to accelerate large-scale AI infrastructure development. Unlike Executive Order 14141, the RFI does not require the data centers to be powered with clean energy. Instead, it seeks information on the type of energy technologies that might be of highest interest for co-location, including nuclear reactors, enhanced geothermal systems, fuel cells, carbon capture, energy storage systems, and portfolios of on-site technologies.
The department is seeking information on the following areas:
– Industry interest in any of the locations identified in the appendices for consideration
– Potential data center designs, technologies, and operational models that could be deployed
– Potential power needs, timelines, and approaches to co-locating energy sources with data centers or sources for surplus interconnection capacity
– Financial and contractual considerations related to leasing DOE-owned or DOE-managed land for data center development
– Potential benefits and collaboration opportunities associated with siting AI infrastructure on DOE sites
– Economic, realty, and environmental information
– Potential challenges associated with siting AI infrastructure on DOE sites and any additional information required for potential solicitations
Responses to the RFI will assist DOE in prioritizing sites for future solicitations, providing additional site information to inform proposal development, identifying potential use conflicts and mitigation measures, and developing terms and conditions for realty agreements. DOE recognizes that any solicitation would have to provide information on acreage, water access, environmental sensitivities, land use plans, power access and energy infrastructure, security, thermal management infrastructure, existing compute infrastructure, and site access restrictions, among others.
DOE has the statutory authority to sell, grant leases or easements, or dispose of real property through a number of means, including its authority under the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2201g), and the DOE Organization Act. It also may sell property to states under 10 U.S.C. 1304(b). During the Biden administration, through its Cleanup for Clean Energy Initiative, the department identified 35,000 acres on five sites previously used in the nuclear weapons program that could be repurposed for clean energy generation. After issuing competitive solicitations, DOE selected multiple solar projects to be sited on the Nevada National Security Site, Savannah River Site, and Idaho National Laboratory. DOE anticipates that it may take this pathway for siting data centers on the lands it ultimately identifies.
Constructing data centers and energy facilities on DOE lands could provide multiple benefits, such as increasing security and potentially accelerating development approvals. Further, as the RFI suggests, constructing data centers on federal lands could be cost-efficient, especially if the federal government is the user of that data center, as there is no cost to acquire the land, and property tax payments are no longer a factor. However, developers could face multiple compliance challenges, including negotiating terms and conditions of the realty agreement with a federal agency, environmental review and permitting, and interconnection. Given DOE’s goal to fast-track the selection and construction of these data centers and potential co-located generation facilities and an ever-evolving landscape of regulatory requirements, developers should seek the advice of capable legal counsel.