The United States Environmental Protection Agency has proposed new measures aimed at speeding construction of infrastructure needed for the rapid buildup of data centres for artificial intelligence that would enable companies to start building before obtaining air permits.

The EPA announced its new proposal on Tuesday.

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It comes six months after the EPA announced an initiative called Powering the Great American Comeback that prioritised the agency’s focus on rapidly building power generation to meet soaring demand from data centres.

“For years, Clean Air Act permitting has been an obstacle to innovation and growth,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “We are continuing to fix this broken system.”

The EPA proposal will redefine the pre-construction requirements for power plants, manufacturing facilities and other infrastructure to enable companies to start some construction that is not related to air emissions prior to obtaining Clean Air Act construction permits.

The Trump administration has been focused on winning the race to rapidly develop and scale up the use of AI across the country and has already launched a package of executive actions aimed at boosting energy supply to power its expansion.

US and China, top economic rivals, are locked in a technological arms race to secure an economic and military edge. The huge amount of data processing behind AI requires a rapid increase in power supplies that are straining utilities and grids in many states.

The Clean Air Act’s New Source Review programme will not allow construction of major facilities before they obtain air permits.

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Under the Trump administration, the EPA has launched what it calls the largest deregulatory actions in the agency’s decades-long history, including a move to repeal the scientific and legal underpinning for regulating greenhouse gas emissions that most scientists and environmentalists agree is driving climate change.