Record / E-2026-0022
Executive Order 14318 fast-tracks permitting and opens federal land for AI data centers
On July 23, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14318, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, which defines qualifying projects as data centers over 100 megawatts or projects with at least 500 million dollars in committed capital, directs new NEPA categorical exclusions and FAST-41 coverage, directs Interior, Energy, and Defense to offer federal land, and revokes Executive Order 14141 of January 14, 2025. On July 24, 2025, the Energy Department selected Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge Reservation, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and the Savannah River Site for private AI data center and power development. The order followed the January 21, 2025 White House announcement of the Stargate joint venture of OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, with a stated commitment of up to 500 billion dollars in private AI infrastructure investment.
Context
Reporting ties data center growth to rising electricity costs in affected markets: PJM capacity charges attributable to data centers were reported at about 6.3 billion dollars in a recent auction cycle, and Virginia residential prices rose about 13 percent in a year. Research from the Electric Power Research Institute cuts the other way, finding that through 2024 data centers lowered average retail prices by spreading fixed grid costs. The Stargate figure of 500 billion dollars is a company pledge, not an appropriation, and Elon Musk publicly said the companies do not actually have the money. The order's stated rationale is national security, economic prosperity, and AI leadership.
Sources
The document identifier is the citation. The URL is a resolution mechanism, and the archived copy is what the citation resolves to when the live link dies.
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Executive Order 14318, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure
EO 14318; 90 FR 35385; FR Doc. 2025-14212, signed July 23, 2025, published July 28, 2025
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DOE Announces Site Selection for AI Data Center and Energy Infrastructure Development on Federal Lands
Department of Energy press release, July 24, 2025
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Trump announces up to 500 billion dollars in private sector AI infrastructure investment, CBS News
CBS News, Jennifer Jacobs, January 21, 2025
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Private-sector data center plans advance for Paducah and Savannah River sites, ANS Nuclear Newswire
ANS Nuclear Newswire, July 31, 2026