The US Department of Energy has detailed a number of existing resources and incentives it offers for the data center sector, in an effort to speed up the roll-out of AI data centers.
It will also set up an AI data center engagement team to further support the sector, and plans to meet regularly with data center developers, clean energy solutions providers, grid operators, and other stakeholders "to drive development of innovative solutions."
In a blog post this month, the DOE said that it could help with grid-scale clean energy deployment, grid enhancement, energy efficiency improvements, demand side flexibility, and technical assistance.
Alongside assistance, it pointed to various tax and loan incentive programs run through the DOE.
"Near-term data center-driven electricity demand growth is an opportunity to accelerate the build-out of clean energy solutions, improve demand flexibility, and modernize the grid while maintaining affordability," the department said.
In its blog post, the DOE also said that Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) plans to release a report on current and near-future data center energy consumption and water use at the end of 2024.
The last report, published back in 2020, is considered one of the best studies of data center power consumption in the world.
Alongside this report, an August proposal from the DOE's advisory board suggested building an AI data center testbed, alongside a number of initiatives to boost AI data center development.
Update: In September, The White House said that the DOE would "continue to share resources on repurposing closed coal sites with data center developers." Federal and state tax incentives exist for many of the sites.
