A data center under construction in Hutto, Texas, in late 2025. The US military is considering leasing land for data centers on remote military bases, but doing so could lead to logistical problems. (Shutterstock/Steve Heap)

The US Military Is Branching into Data Centers. Has It Thought This Through?

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In addition to concerns over water usage, data centers consume enormous amounts of power—far more than a base or local community’s grid can support in some cases.

Data centers, especially those supporting artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, continue to consume far more power than expected. This could soon be a concern for the US military, as it is exploring leasing underutilized land on its bases for data centers.

The Department of the Air Force announced last month that it would seek commercial entities to bid for an AI data center at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Eielson Air Force Base (AFB), and Clear Space Force Station (SFS) in Alaska.

One unresolved question is how the military would seek to power those facilities in “The Last Frontier,” but that could be where the proposed nuclear microreactors could play a role, providing the necessary energy.

The United States Army may soon face a similar issue at Fort Bliss, Texas—where a 3-gigawatt datacenter complex could soon use more power than all of El Paso!

Can Local Energy Grids Support Data Centers?

It is easy to see why the military is looking to offer underutilized land for data centers. Doing so provides revenue for the respective bases, creates job opportunities in local communities, and could potentially throw up a political obstacle to base closures by lawmakers in the future.

It is also a win for the........

© The National Interest