The Trump administration's executive order directing federal agencies to prioritize and streamline permitting for data center and AI infrastructure projects on federal land is yielding tangible results, with multiple former government sites now being redeveloped for digital infrastructure.
The executive order, signed in July 2025, directs federal agencies to identify underutilized federal properties suitable for data center development and to expedite environmental review and permitting processes for qualifying projects. The order also encourages co-location of power generation infrastructure with data center facilities on federal land.
Federal Sites Becoming Prime Locations
The order has catalyzed interest in redeveloping former federal facilities — including decommissioned military bases, former energy production sites, and other underutilized government properties — into modern digital infrastructure campuses. The approach leverages existing industrial infrastructure, environmental remediation investments, and utility connections while accelerating the pace of development.
The Paducah American Energy Hub in Kentucky, announced in 2026, exemplifies this approach: a former uranium enrichment facility is being transformed into a $100 billion AI data center campus through a public-private partnership involving the Department of Energy, private developers, and utilities.
Balancing Speed and Responsibility
While the executive order accelerates permitting, it also maintains environmental review requirements under federal law. The administration has emphasized that streamlined permitting does not mean bypassing environmental standards — rather, it means reducing bureaucratic delays while maintaining substantive protections.
ADIC supports efforts to make federal land available for digital infrastructure development, particularly at former industrial sites where environmental remediation and infrastructure reuse can create productive new uses. The organization encourages developers pursuing federal-site projects to engage surrounding communities early and transparently, just as they would at any other location.
A National Strategy
The federal land initiative is part of a broader administration strategy to maintain American leadership in AI and digital infrastructure. The strategy includes streamlining permitting, encouraging domestic energy production, promoting nuclear and advanced energy technologies, and ensuring that infrastructure costs are not shifted onto existing ratepayers.
For the digital infrastructure industry, the federal land approach opens new development pathways in locations that may already have grid connections, water infrastructure, and industrial zoning — reducing the need for greenfield development and community conflict.
