Hanford Nuclear Reservation with Northwest Energy's nuclear reactor letting off steam in the background. (Photo by Tobin, via Flickr, Creative Commons)

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday to provide federal support to address massive energy needs for fast-growing advanced artificial intelligence data centers, the White House said.

The executive order calls on the federal departments of Defense and Energy to each identify at least three locations for private-sector data centers. It seeks to balance construction, consumer cost and environmental impact.

The rapid growth and huge electricity needs spawned by the artificial intelligence revolution spurs a directive to lease federal sites owned by Defense and Energy departments for power supply centers.

President Joe Biden signed an executive order today opening federal land to data centers, setting up a key test on energy policy for the next As I write this morni

President Joe Biden has signed an ambitious executive order on artificial intelligence that seeks to ensure the infrastructure needed for advanced AI operations like data centers can be built quickly

President Biden issued an executive order to permit data centers on federal lands in a move aimed at bolstering clean energy and protecting national security during a boom in artificial intelligence

Under the new rules, the departments of Defense and Energy will each identify at least three sites where the private sector can build AI data centers.