The US Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating the development of large-scale transmission and generation projects to meet skyrocketing demand emanating from the data center sector.

The Speed to Power initiative aims to address concerns that the current pace of infrastructure development is insufficient to meet the surging electricity demand.

“In the coming years, Americans will require more energy to power their homes and businesses – and with President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is ensuring we can meet this growing demand while fueling AI and data center development with affordable, reliable, and secure sources,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright. “With the Speed to Power initiative, we’re leveraging the expertise of the private sector to harness all forms of energy that are affordable, reliable, and secure to ensure the United States is able to win the AI race.”

The initiative will see the DOE issue a Request for Information focused on near-term investment opportunities, project readiness, load growth expectations, and infrastructure constraints. The department has stated that it is seeking input from utilities, grid operators, and large power consumers on how federal resources can be utilized to expand generation and transmission capacity more efficiently.

The DOE has tied the initiative to recent executive orders that prioritize energy security and grid reliability. In a recent report on grid reliability and security, the agency warned that “blackouts could increase by 100 times by 2030 if the U.S. continues to shutter reliable power sources and fails to add additional firm capacity.”

The Speed to Power initiative aims to identify grid projects that can be advanced quickly to support the expansion of manufacturing, industrial growth, and the increasing concentration of large-scale data centers nationwide.

The DOE joins a growing list of utilities, Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO), and new start-ups that are seeking to slash grid connection wait times. Earlier this week, RTO Southwest Power Pool approved an accelerated pathway for large load users, including data centers, to connect to the grid.

In April, PJM, the country’s largest RTO, partnered with Google to deploy AI technology to facilitate faster grid connection timelines for power projects and large load users, like data centers.

Earlier this year, PJM gained approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to fast-track the review process of up to 50 new power generation projects.

The 50 schemes are likely to include several large gas generation projects. In the spring, they will join the batch review of 55GW of legacy projects, which include renewable and battery energy storage.