Senate advances permitting bill that would speed energy projects for data centers

The U.S. Senate has advanced the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, a permitting bill that would speed up federal approval of energy infrastructure, including the pipelines and power that data centers need, The Lever reports. The Senate voted 73-25 on Monday to advance it, with 21 Democrats reportedly in favour, and 62-21 on Tuesday on a second procedural vote.

The bill would expedite federal permits for large energy projects and limit future administrations' ability to reverse approvals, and it clears the way for infrastructure on public land as the Trump administration tries to advance at least 17 data centers on federal land. Supporters, including electrical and construction unions and Democrats such as Senator Martin Heinrich, say it will speed clean energy, cut electricity bills and make data centers pay for the grid costs they cause. Environmental groups such as Food & Water Watch and Public Citizen say it rolls back environmental protections and weakens communities' ability to challenge data center projects.

The votes come a week after an election in which voters backed local data center moratoria, and before Democrats take control of both chambers in the next Congress. The Lever notes that the Searchlight Institute, a think tank pushing for the bill, counts among its backers a hedge fund billionaire whose firm is invested in data center infrastructure.