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Policy intelligence brief

R48762 — Data Center Energy Infrastructure: Federal Permit Requirements

A data center is a physical facility that houses computer systems for managing and transmitting data. The federal government has been pursuing policies to promote data center development, particularly for artificial intelligence (AI), a “critical and emerging technology” with data storage and processing requirements. On July 23, 2025, the Trump Administration announced the release of “Winning the AI Race: America’s AI Action Plan,” which includes among its key provisions “promoting rapid buildout of data centers.”…

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Legal stateResearch or guidanceContext or guidance does not establish a generally applicable legal requirement.
JurisdictionUnited StatesFederal-source record
Latest recorded action2025-12-16Updated by the Congressional Research Service
Primary sourceCRSOriginal public record linked

What the evidence says

Key findings

01
How it operates

Disclosure & reporting · Grid & interconnection · Siting & permitting

Forces a data center’s energy, water, and impact data into public view, so regulators, ratepayers, and communities can see figures operators would otherwise keep private. Determines whether and how fast a data center can actually get power, and who builds and pays for the transmission upgrades. Sets where and how a data center can be built, and which authority and reviews can accelerate or block a project.

Comparable precedents

Related approaches worth comparing

Selected by shared tracked mechanisms or themes, with cross jurisdiction examples prioritized. Similarity is not legal equivalence.

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Relationship map

R48762 evidence graph

Data Center Energy Infrastructure: Federal Permit Requirements

12 nodes · 11 evidenced edges
Policy record 1Policy theme 5Policy mechanism 2Documented actor 1Policy family 1Jurisdiction 1Original source 1
explicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summarysignals mechanism: Mechanism signal derived from the tracked record textsignals mechanism: Mechanism signal derived from the tracked record textapplies in: Jurisdiction recorded for this source typedocumented by: Original source URL stored with the policy recordpublished by: Publishing organization named in the tracked public recordmember of family: standalonePolicy recordR48762Data Center Energy Infrastr…R48762: Data Center Energy Infrastructure: Federal Permit RequirementsPolicy themeEnergyExplicit record textEnergy: Explicit record textPolicy themeWaterExplicit record textWater: Explicit record textPolicy themeCarbonExplicit record textCarbon: Explicit record textPolicy themeSiting & Land UseExplicit record textSiting & Land Use: Explicit record textPolicy themeGrid ReliabilityExplicit record textGrid Reliability: Explicit record textPolicy mechanismDisclosure & reportingText-derived policy signalDisclosure & reporting: Text-derived policy signalPolicy mechanismGrid & interconnectionText-derived policy signalGrid & interconnection: Text-derived policy signalJurisdictionUnited StatesFederal policy jurisdictionUnited States: Federal policy jurisdictionOriginal sourceCRSOriginal public sourceCRS: Original public sourceDocumented actorCongressional Research…organizationCongressional Research Service: organizationPolicy familyData Center Energy Inf…Policy familyData Center Energy Infrastructure: Federal Permit Requirements: Policy family

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Inspectable edges

Relationship receipts

Each edge states what was observed and why it appears. An edge never implies private influence, support, opposition, or causation.