What does a massive data center mean for your community? These senators want you to have the answers
Sens. John Curtis of Utah and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware introduced bipartisan bills to increase transparency around data centers’ energy, water, environmental and infrastructure impacts. The proposals would provide technical assistance to local governments and require federal agencies to collect and publish data before communities approve projects.
Sens. John Curtis, R-Utah, and Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Delaware, are proposing legislation to give communities more information and influence over data center developments. The Data Center Community Empowerment Act would create a Department of Energy program offering independent technical analysis of projects’ effects on energy, water, infrastructure and local economies, without allowing the department to recommend approval or rejection.
The Data Center Transparency Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency to track environmental impacts, water consumption, utility costs, pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, while the Energy Information Administration would report on energy use, grid expansion and household utility bills. The bills’ prospects are uncertain as lawmakers face a busy schedule after the Senate’s recess, but both senators said communities need reliable information to evaluate the benefits and potential costs of data center growth. The article references construction of the GTS data center in Eagle Mountain, Utah, as an example of the development driving the debate.