Executive Order 14318: Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure (July 23, 2025)

Overview

Published in the Federal Register of 28 July 2025 (Vol. 90, No. 142), the order makes the rapid buildout of AI data centres and the infrastructure that powers them, including high-voltage transmission lines, a priority to be pursued by easing federal regulatory burdens. It also directs the use of federally owned land and resources for data-centre development. A 'Data Center Project' is defined as a facility requiring more than 100 MW of new load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation or synthetic data generation.

'Covered Components' include energy infrastructure (transmission lines, gas pipelines, substations, switchyards, transformers, switchgear), dispatchable baseload sources such as gas turbines and coal, nuclear and geothermal equipment (including backup power), semiconductors, networking equipment and data storage. A 'Qualifying Project' is one with at least $500 million of committed capital expenditure as determined by the Secretary of Commerce, an incremental load above 100 MW, a national-security role, or a designation by one of four Secretaries.

The tools are: a Commerce-led financial support initiative that may include loans, guarantees, grants, tax incentives and offtake agreements (Sec. 3); NEPA categorical exclusions, identified, relied on and newly created (Sec. 5); FAST-41 transparency-project status and listing on the Permitting Dashboard (Sec. 6); EPA regulatory changes and identification of Brownfield and Superfund sites (Sec. 7); programmatic ESA consultation over 10 years and review of Clean Water Act nationwide permits (Sec. 8); and federal land and military-installation sites (Sec. 9).

The order creates no enforceable right and is implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to appropriations (Sec. 10). Section 4 revokes Executive Order 14141 of 14 January 2025, 'Advancing United States Leadership in Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure'.

Key points

1. Data Center Project: a facility requiring more than 100 MW of new load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation or synthetic data generation.
2. Qualifying Project: at least $500 million committed capex, incremental load above 100 MW, national-security protection, or designation by a Secretary.
3. Covered Components: energy infrastructure, dispatchable baseload sources (including backup power), semiconductors, networking equipment and data storage.
4. Commerce is to launch a financial support initiative that may include loans, loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives and offtake agreements.
5. Within 10 days agencies report existing NEPA categorical exclusions to CEQ, which coordinates new ones for Qualifying Projects.
6. Federal financial assistance under 50% of total project cost is presumed not to be substantial federal control.
7. The FPISC Executive Director may designate a Qualifying Project a transparency project within 30 days of agency notice and publish it on the Permitting Dashboard.
8. EPA must develop guidance on Brownfield and Superfund site reuse within 180 days.
9. Executive Order 14141 is revoked.

Using it in design

• Check the 100 MW new-load and $500 million capex thresholds early to decide whether a US project can use the federal streamlining.
• Record critical load and incremental electrical load as inputs to the project's permitting classification; the 100 MW threshold ties directly to design capacity decisions.
• Treat Brownfield, Superfund and federal-land sites as separate candidate site types in site selection.
• Note that backup power and dispatchable baseload generation count as Covered Components when they are planned together with the facility.

Who should read it

Investors and developers of large US data-centre projects, site and permitting consultants, and policy analysts.

Document contents

1. Section 1. Policy and Purpose
2. Sec. 2. Definitions
3. Sec. 3. Encouraging Qualifying Projects
4. Sec. 4. Revocation of Executive Order 14141
5. Sec. 5. Efficient Environmental Reviews
6. Sec. 6. Efficiency and Transparency Through FAST-41
7. Sec. 7. Streamlining of Permitting Review
8. Sec. 8. Biological and Water Permitting Efficiencies
9. Sec. 9. Federal Lands Availability
10. Sec. 10. General Provisions

Related standards

• NEPA (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
• FAST-41
• EO 14141 (revoked)

Read the document

Publication details

Authors

Executive Office of the President

Publisher

Executive Office of the President / Federal Register

Year

2025

Document number

EO 14318; FR Doc. 2025-14212

Document language

English

Source type

Government / public

Access

Open licence — downloadable

Licence

U.S. public domain — U.S. Government work; free to reuse

Licence evidence

www.copyright.gov

Citation