EPA plans an overhaul of key Clean Air Act permitting programs to make it easier to meet electricity demand from power-hungry data centers, Administrator Lee Zeldin said in an op-ed published Thursday.
“The digital revolution has ushered in new needs and new industries which demand new permitting rules that help, not hamper development,” Zeldin said in the piece posted on Fox News’ website that frames the upcoming proposals as essential to ensuring American dominance in the field of artificial intelligence.
Within a decade, power demand from data centers supporting AI will consume almost 10 percent of U.S. electricity supply, or more than double its share today, Zeldin wrote. The planned permitting changes will “help expedite construction of essential power generation and industrial facilities,” he said.
Among other features, the overhaul would give industry more leeway to begin projects before getting permits and loosen requirements for restarting mothballed power plants, the op-ed indicates.
