U.S. Department of Energy Seeks Long-term Lease Agreement for Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure at Idaho National Laboratory

Strategic Insights -

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request for Applications (RFA) to lease federal land at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure integrated with innovative energy generation and storage technologies. The DOE aims to select one or more applicants to enter into lease negotiations covering the full project life cycle, including design, financing, permitting, development, construction, operation, and decommissioning.

Key Takeaways:

  • The DOE expects proposed projects to be commercially viable without direct government funding, with lease consideration primarily in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.
  • The RFA follows a Request for Information (RFI) issued in April 2025 and a site selection announcement on July 24, 2025, which included land at INL.
  • The DOE's objective is to enhance national AI computing capacity through secure, scalable, and energy- and water-efficient infrastructure, including innovative computing, cooling, and power delivery/control technologies for AI training and/or inference workloads.
  • Favorable consideration will be given to projects that propose new integrated AI infrastructure jointly with new nuclear energy generation.
  • The proposed projects may include three main lease periods: Development (6-18 months), Project Construction (1-2 years), and Operation (10+ years).
  • The DOE outlines three potential project configurations: Configuration A, Configuration B, and Configuration C, with proposals encouraged to incorporate innovative and/or on-site energy generation such as advanced nuclear and storage technologies.
  • Eligible applicants include private sector companies, data center operators and developers, energy infrastructure developers and operators, and consortia/partnerships.
  • The RFA has a deadline of November 7, 2025, for applications, with a selection announcement expected on December 19, 2025.

Sources:

  • U.S. Department of Energy
  • DE-FOA-0003578 - Request for Applications (RFA) for Long-term Lease Agreements at Idaho National Laboratory
  • Holland & Knight's previous blog post, "America's AI Action Plan: What's In, What's Out, What's Next," July 25, 2025
  • SAM.gov
  • FedConnect.net