The fast-growing US data center industry is getting regulatory nods to speed its connections to the power grid as it weathers pushback over its ballooning electricity and water needs.
Artificial intelligence’s skyrocketing needs for computing power has driven hundreds of billions of dollars in spending on data center buildings alone. That in turn has fueled demand for high-powered computer chips, cooling systems to keep chip racks from overheating, and energy solutions to power them.
While federal oversight of data center energy usage is limited, regulators are moving to ease the permitting process for grid connections and asking tech companies to ...