Executive Order 14318 puts qualifying data center projects on a federal fast track

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Record ID

AIA-2026-0002

Kind

Siting, permitting and tax

Jurisdiction

United States

Last verified

15 September 2026

Added

15 September 2026

• The order names two quantitative routes into qualifying status: committed capital expenditure of at least 500 million dollars, or an incremental electric load addition greater than 100 MW.
• It directs agencies to establish categorical exclusions covering actions related to qualifying projects that normally do not have a significant effect on the human environment.
• It reaches data center projects and covered component projects, which include energy infrastructure and semiconductor and networking equipment.
• The order was published in the Federal Register on 28 July 2025 at 90 FR 35385.

1. 500,000,000 US dollars

   Capital expenditure that makes a project qualifying under EO 14318

   The White House, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, primary source, as of 23 July 2025.

2. 100 MW

   Incremental electric load addition that makes a project qualifying under EO 14318

   The White House, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center Infrastructure, primary source, as of 23 July 2025.

An operator above either threshold can ask for federal permitting treatment that a smaller project cannot, which changes the calculus on project size and on siting near federal land. A utility serving such a project should expect the federal review to move faster than its own interconnection study. A community should understand that a categorical exclusion removes the full environmental review for the covered action, so the questions that matter locally, water draw and local air quality, move to state and county permits.

1. The White House, Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Center InfrastructurePrimary · 23 July 2025
2. Executive Order 14318, Federal Register volume 90 number 142, GovInfoPrimary · 28 July 2025

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