The US Department of Energy is taking new steps to power AI data centers — and to use AI to deliver energy tech breakthroughs.
First, Secretary Chris Wright told federal regulators to consider a rule that would accelerate the connection of data centers to electric grids by granting priority access to large new power loads that can be quickly ramped up or down.
The order was welcomed by industry groups and by former regulators in both political parties, and could be especially useful for data centers that aim to produce some of their energy on-site with natural gas.
“This is exactly the type of step needed to build greater resiliency and flexibility in our electrical grid, with speed,” Brian Melka, CEO of the energy hardware manufacturer Rehlko, told Semafor.
DOE also said it will build two massive supercomputers powered by semiconductor firm AMD. The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.