America's Pushing Forward with Trump's Bold Artificial Intelligence Agenda in the International Data Center Competition
The U.S. government, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, has taken significant steps to boost American dominance in the rapidly evolving field of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The White House released "Winning the AI Race: America's AI Action Plan" on July 23, 2025, outlining over 90 policy actions centered around three core areas: Accelerating innovation, Building strong AI infrastructure, and Leading global AI diplomacy and security.
The plan is operational, with accompanying executive orders aimed at promoting the American AI technology stack, streamlining federal permits for data centers, and ensuring AI systems are trustworthy and unbiased. The U.S. Commerce and State Departments are also working with industry leaders to export complete AI solutions.
Regarding energy consumption and environmental concerns, the plan focuses on facilitating energy infrastructure development to meet the growing demands of AI. U.S. data centers currently consume over 4% of national electricity, with projections reaching nearly 10% by 2030. To address this, the plan emphasizes restoring American semiconductor manufacturing and building secure data centers for military use, while also promoting sustainable energy development to support AI infrastructure reliably and environmentally responsibly.
Notable projects like OpenAI and Oracle's "Stargate" aim to create a national AI infrastructure network, while companies involved in the Stargate project are planning to create 4.5 gigawatts of new data center capacity, more than twice the power used in San Francisco. However, the surge in electricity use could lead to greenhouse gas emissions equal to 40% of the U.S.'s current annual emissions.
The plan also includes fast-tracking environmental permits under the National Environmental Policy Act to ease the construction of large data centers and chip factories. New guidelines for government AI contracts will require that language models are free from political bias and allow open discourse.
In Santa Clara, California, 50 data centers use 60% of the city's electricity, demonstrating the significant impact of AI infrastructure on local energy consumption. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that global electricity use from data centers could double by 2030, reaching more than Japan's current energy demand. A single ChatGPT query uses nearly 10 times the power of a Google search, highlighting the energy-intensive nature of AI technologies.
The administration is committed to eliminating or easing federal rules that slow AI progress, with a focus on streamlining the permit process for building data centers and chip factories. This proactive approach is intended to help the U.S. maintain competitiveness in the AI race, as other countries like China expand their energy capacity.
In summary, the U.S. AI Action Plan is actively implemented, emphasizing infrastructure and energy system expansion to support AI's growing consumption while promoting sustainability and addressing environmental impacts. The plan seeks to ensure American leadership in the AI sector while addressing the environmental and energy challenges posed by this technological advancement.
[1] White House. (2025). Winning the AI Race: America's AI Action Plan. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/ai/ [2] Office of Science and Technology Policy. (2025). U.S. AI Action Plan. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/US-AI-Action-Plan.pdf [3] International Energy Agency. (2023). Global Data Center Energy Use Trends. Retrieved from https://www.iea.org/reports/global-data-center-energy-use-2023 [4] White House. (2025). Fact Sheet: Sustainable Energy Development to Support AI Infrastructure. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/07/23/fact-sheet-sustainable-energy-development-to-support-ai-infrastructure/ [5] Office of Science and Technology Policy. (2025). U.S. AI Action Plan Status Report. Retrieved from https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/US-AI-Action-Plan-Status-Report.pdf
- To align with the U.S. AI Action Plan's emphasis on sustainable energy development, the government has proposed investment in renewable energy technologies for powering AI infrastructure, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure environmental responsibility.
- The policy actions outlined in the AI Action Plan include the regulation of AI systems to ensure they are reliable, unbiased, and free from political bias, as language models will be required to meet these standards in government contracts.
- As part of the plan's initiative to expand AI technology, the administration is advocating for the adoption of artificial-intelligence solutions in various sectors, such as renewable energy, with the aim of increasing efficiency and reducing energy consumption for AI infrastructure.
