H.R. 5927 — Securing Reliable Power for Advanced Technologies Act

This section amends Title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950 by adding a new section 306 to authorize the President to designate as priority national defense projects certain "covered projects" involving the construction, expansion, repowering, or reopening of "critical artificial intelligence infrastructure," which includes (1) data centers or high-performance computing facilities with at least 50 megawatts of connected electrical load primarily dedicated to artificial intelligence or machine learning; (2) dispatchable baseload electric generation facilities with at least 100 megawatts nameplate capacity that provide firm capacity for at least 85% of annual hours (excluding intermittent renewables) and are committed to powering such facilities; (3) associated high-voltage transmission facilities and upgrades; and (4) essential fuel supply infrastructure such as coal mines and preparation facilities (as defined in the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977), natural gas facilities, oil and gas wells and pipelines, and dedicated rail, barge, or other transportation. For designated projects, the section requires federal agencies to (1) conduct concurrent permitting reviews under a presidentially established consolidated schedule with milestones and completion of all federal authorizations within two years of a complete application (unless extended for extraordinary circumstances); (2) treat schedule noncompliance as a failure to act under the Administrative Procedure Act; (3) resolve disputes via the President or designee (e.g., Secretary of Defense); and (4) designate a single lead agency for all environmental reviews. The section limits judicial review of designations to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and of authorizations to the circuit where the project is located, both within 60 days of issuance (with expedited proceedings).