Congress pushes energy-permitting reform as AI data centers drive demand

WASHINGTON — The rapid rise of artificial intelligence is prompting Congress to push faster permitting reforms for energy projects to keep up with growing AI data-center electricity needs.

Lawmakers in the House are advancing bipartisan legislation to streamline the permitting process for energy development, led by House Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., and Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine. They say the current framework is ill-suited for the pace of AI deployment and the associated surge in power use. Global electricity demand for AI data centers is projected to double between 2022 and 2026, according to the International Energy Agency. In the United States, AI data centers accounted for more than 4% of electricity use in 2023, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, and that share could rise to about 9% by 2030. Westerman said the scale of AI-driven load requires rewiring expectations about where and how energy is produced and delivered, noting that a single data center’s power draw can be comparable to several nuclear-reactor capacities.

The effort is aimed at creating durable, comprehensive solutions that cut red tape, set clear deadlines and provide legal certainty for energy projects, a policy roadmap API laid out earlier this month. API CEO Mike Sommers told Fox News Digital that the United States trails in federal action compared with what is happening abroad, and warned that delaying reform risks higher costs for consumers as demand for power grows in tandem with AI deployment. He said rapid permitting is essential to keep American data centers and AI investment competitive with China and other powers as the AI future expands.

"What we're seeing right now in China is a historic build-out of their grid. Of course, adding nuclear, adding a lot more oil and gas, but in addition to that, they're adding a lot of coal as well. That is a country that is really focused on using all the energy that they have to build out, to supply the AI future and a growing citizenship," Sommers told Fox News Digital. "What we don't see at the federal level or at the state level in the United States is that same kind of effort. And the first key to that is to get a permitting reform bill done that gives our private sector the ability to actually build things."

Sommers described a "full-throated effort" by API to get their plan into lawmakers' hands, including in-person advocacy on Capitol Hill and a seven-figure advertising campaign inside Washington. "We're not seeing a crisis now, but there is a crisis coming. And if we can get permanent reform done now, it'll clear the way for that dominance in both energy and in AI that's going to be required if we're going to win the future," he said.

Meanwhile, proponents say the current U.S. energy grid and permitting framework were not designed with AI-driven demand in mind. Westerman noted that many rules date from the 50s, 60s and 70s and that the National Environmental Policy Act and similar laws helped protect the environment when originally enacted, but have since been "weaponized" and politicized in ways that slow projects more than they advance environmental goals. He stressed that any solution must garner broad support across parties, because successful reform in the Senate still requires 60 votes.

"All of those were put in place with the right motives, but over time, they've been weaponized and politicized, where they're used more to stop projects than they are to benefit the environment," Westerman said. "I contend that we're hurting the environment by having a poor permitting process."

Elizabeth Elkind, a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, covered the House action and the administration's energy policy discussions. Earlier this month, API released a policy roadmap with recommendations for Congress to create "durable, comprehensive solutions that cut red tape, sets clear deadlines and provides legal certainty" in unleashing American energy.

The debate over permitting reform comes as the sector aims to align energy policy with accelerating AI needs. API argues that a streamlined permitting regime would help accelerate the construction of the energy infrastructure required to support a growing number of data centers, while ensuring environmental protections are maintained. Critics, meanwhile, caution that deregulation could undermine environmental safeguards and public health.

The current push comes as policymakers watch how quickly AI-related demand is increasing. Westerman said electricity demand has spiked, and one data-center facility in his district illustrated how power needs can outpace expectations: the data center under consideration would require power comparable to multiple large-scale generators. He stressed that meeting this demand will require a coordinated effort to expand capacity safely and reliably while reducing unnecessary delays in the permitting process.

As the legislative process unfolds, allies argue that bipartisan compromise is possible and necessary. They point to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold as a hurdle that must be bridged, and note growing interest across both parties in updating environmental-review rules to reflect modern energy needs without compromising core protections. API officials and lawmakers alike say that failure to act could leave the United States at a competitive disadvantage in AI development and deployment, potentially slowing job creation and economic growth tied to new technologies.

The discussion now moves to committee markups and negotiations with Senate Republicans and Democrats as proponents seek a path to durable reform that can withstand changing administrations and energy markets. In the near term, supporters say a credible plan would set firm project timelines, clarify which agency reviews apply to which projects, and streamline the sequencing of environmental reviews to reduce duplicative processes—all while preserving essential environmental safeguards. The question remains whether the parties can bridge differences on how much to deregulate versus preserve protections, and how to finance the grid expansions that AI growth will demand. The outcome will shape how quickly the United States can harness AI-driven economic opportunities while maintaining reliability and resilience of the nation’s energy system.