President Biden is reportedly considering using the Defense Production Act to access emergency powers to prioritize big tech’s data center expansion, prioritizing it over the country’s renewable energy transition. If President Biden moves forward, the public and the planet will pay the price in the form of higher utility bills and stalled progress on the country’s climate goals – all on behalf of the wealthiest corporations in the world.

This report follows a meeting between the White House and energy and tech executives in September, which public interest advocates vocally criticized for lack of their inclusion. Advocates also submitted comments to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration raising concerns about the government’s full-throated support of data center expansion.

National advocates responded to this misuse of of the Defense Production Act:

Ryan Gerety, Director, Athena Coalition: “President Biden is reportedly seeking to prioritize the energy needs of a few wealthy tech corporations, like Amazon and Facebook, over affordable, renewable energy for the public. It would represent a misuse of power if President Biden were to establish emergency powers in order to sidestep standards, established processes, and facilitate the interests of wealthy corporations. Big tech’s energy demands are already so high that they are threatening our renewable energy transition. Coal plants are staying open so that the richest corporations can cement their monopoly power and commercialize artificial intelligence. If President Biden’s moves forward, the public will pay higher energy costs, and we will have failed to build the renewable energy infrastructure we need for the future of people and the planet. Unfortunately, President Biden is risking his legacy on the economy and climate to prioritize the interests of a few wealthy tech corporations.”

Emily Peterson-Cassin, Director of Corporate Power, Demand Progress Education Fund: “Throwing communities and the planet under the bus to boost an unproven and potentially extremely harmful technology is beyond foolish. This move benefits companies that are under investigation or even being sued by the administration while harming communities. It’s a shame that such corporate welfare would be prioritized as one of Joe Biden’s last acts as president.”

Brian Chen, Policy Director, Data & Society: “Given all we know about data centers’ outsize role in accelerating global warming, it is beyond disappointing to reportedly see President Biden prioritize the profit motives of tech firms and hyperscalers over the public interest. While the administration took some important steps to advance AI guardrails, its record will have to be evaluated against the ways it has used state power to enrich and accommodate Silicon Valley.”

Jenna Ruddock, Policy Counsel, Free Press: “Large-scale data center projects, especially dedicated AI infrastructure, have significant social and environmental costs. Major tech corporations have done their best to downplay and, in some cases, hide these costs as they demand more and faster development. We now face a Trump administration with key officials, like the newly-announced FTC chairman, promising to abandon all efforts to regulate AI. This is despite well-documented harms and risks, from automated discrimination to supercharged surveillance. An executive order clearing the way to fast-track data center projects, along with the new fossil fuel infrastructure necessary to power them, will only fast-track the Trump administration’s plans to unravel environmental protections, empower wealthy corporations at the expense of the public, and cut communities out of urgently-needed conversations about what our technological future will look like.”