US states are letting AI data center power plants skip public hearings and environmental reviews, approving projects in weeks instead of years
Building a power plant in the US used to be a years-long slog through public hearings, environmental reviews, and regulatory checkboxes. Now, if it’s powering an AI data center, some states will wave you through in 45 days.
Ohio recently passed legislation allowing select energy projects tied to AI infrastructure to gain approval in as little as 45 days, frequently bypassing public hearings and traditional environmental reviews entirely. It’s not alone. Texas and Pennsylvania have made similar moves, creating a fast lane for power generation that would have been unthinkable a few years ago.
The “bring your own power” playbook #
The strategy driving this trend has earned its own nickname: “Bring Your Own Power.” The concept is straightforward. Instead of waiting in the notoriously congested grid interconnection queue, which can stretch for years, AI companies are building dedicated off-grid natural gas plants to power their data centers directly.
Reuters has identified dozens of large off-grid power plants that are advancing within weeks or months rather than the multi-year timelines that have historically defined energy project development in the US.
One of the most visible examples sits in Memphis, Tennessee, where natural gas turbines are already humming to power xAI’s Colossus data centers. Microsoft is working to restart Three Mile Island, an 835 MW facility, by 2028. Google has plans to generate up to 500 MW through small modular reactors. Amazon is also pursuing nuclear options.
For context, 835 MW is enough to power roughly 600,000 homes.
The case for speed, and the cost of skipping the line #
Public hearings give communities a voice in decisions that affect their air quality, water usage, noise levels, and property values. Environmental reviews assess whether a project’s emissions, waste, or resource consumption will create problems that outlast the economic benefits. When you compress a multi-year process into 45 days, those safeguards don’t shrink proportionally. They often vanish. Off-grid natural gas plants still produce emissions. They still use water for cooling. They still create noise and traffic during construction and operation. The difference is that local residents may not learn about them until construction crews show up.
When these facilities connect to local infrastructure, even partially, the costs of road maintenance, water supply upgrades, and emergency services often land on local and state taxpayers rather than on the companies generating billions in AI revenue.
What this means for energy markets and crypto #
Current projections suggest US data center electricity usage could reach 12% of total US power consumption by 2028. Data centers are already responsible for over 4% of US electricity use.
The broader energy market dynamics also carry indirect consequences for cryptocurrency mining. Crypto miners and AI data centers compete for the same fundamental resource: cheap, abundant electricity. As AI companies lock up dedicated power generation capacity and drive up demand, electricity prices and availability in key regions could shift in ways that squeeze mining operations.
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