Powering the Future: A Market-Driven Strategy for American AI Dominance

To maintain global dominance in artificial intelligence, the United States must pivot toward a competitive, market-driven infrastructure ecosystem that prioritizes private-sector innovation over top-down government control.

Current challenges limiting data center expansion—such as energy shortages, permitting delays, and rising demand for reliable power—cannot be solved by centralized planning but rather by unleashing market forces. By leveraging the free market framework put forth by the Trump Administration, America can empower private developers to build efficient, secure, and cost-effective data centers that advance national priorities in defense, energy, and transportation. This approach relies on locally driven partnerships and economic viability to dictate where infrastructure is built, ensuring that decisions remain in the hands of the communities and industries best positioned to maintain them.

A primary pillar of this strategy is the unleashing of American energy to fuel the rapid growth of AI compute requirements. To overcome energy grid bottlenecks, the U.S. must invest heavily in modular, on-site energy systems, including small modular reactors (SMRs), advanced natural gas systems, and solar-battery hybrids. Deregulation and strong incentives are necessary to accelerate the deployment of these technologies and encourage energy entrepreneurship. Furthermore, developers should actively track emerging technologies to utilize Department of Energy (DOE) land assets, as the federal government looks to leverage its property to support the demand for AI infrastructure. This focus on abundant, domestically produced energy is essential for strengthening energy grid efficiency and ensuring that the AI economy is powered by American resources.

The U.S. must establish a National Compute and Energy Partnership that unites federal agencies, universities, and private industry under a shared strategic goal. This public-private initiative would be designed to expand high-performance computing capacity nationwide, reducing costs while safeguarding sensitive national data. By creating shared infrastructure, the United States can ensure that its researchers and companies have the necessary computing power to outpace rivals such as China, which is currently pouring billions into state-controlled power systems and supercomputing. This partnership model would not only accelerate innovation but also protect America's technological lead by reducing reliance on foreign entities.

To ensure America remains competitive, Congress must pass legislation that establishes a national AI infrastructure framework focused on accelerating data center permitting and incentivizing private investment in U.S.-based compute capacity. Concurrently, the Trump Administration must direct the DOE, Department of Commerce, and Department of Defense to coordinate a unified strategy that prioritizes domestic manufacturing, grid modernization, and supply chain independence. State lawmakers also have a critical role to play by partnering with federal agencies to host AI infrastructure hubs, thereby leveraging regional energy strengths to create jobs and reinforce the nation’s economic security.

The global race for AI supremacy is underway, and the outcome will define economic and military leadership for decades to come. With authoritarian competitors moving quickly to build state-backed capabilities, the United States cannot afford delays caused by red tape or energy bottlenecks. A decisive national initiative rooted in energy independence and market-driven innovation is the only path to ensure the next generation of AI is built on American soil and powered by American energy. By acting with purpose and unity now, the U.S. can secure its long-term resilience, outpace global adversaries, and shape the next century of technological prosperity.

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