February Government Affairs Update
Government Outreach
ASHRAE President Sends Letter to DOE on Data Center Construction
On February 4, ASHRAE President Bill McQuade sent a letter to the Department of Energy (DOE) encouraging them to use ASHRAE Standard 90.4-2025, Energy Standard for Data Centers, Standard 127, Method of Testing for Rating Cooling Equipment Serving Data Center (DC) and Other Information Technology Equipment (ITE) Spaces and ASHRAE TC 9.9 Datacom Encyclopedia. ASHRAE previously submitted technical comments in response to DOE's request for information on Frontiers in AI for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) Initiative. DOE is now moving forward with soliciting proposals from companies to build AI data centers on four national lab sites. The letter can be found here.
U.S. CONGRESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
Members of Congress Introduce Multiple Bills Addressing Data Centers
Several bills have been introduced by members of Congress to address the environmental and affordability challenges arising from the growing electricity demand from AI and data centers.
- On January 15, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced S. 3682, the “Power for the People Act.” The bill would require data centers to supply their own power and make data center companies responsible for the costs to increase grid capacity to accommodate usage. The legislation also provides resources for more accurate data center load forecasting. More information on the legislation can be found here.
- On January 14, Reps. Mike Levin (D-CA) and Kathy Castor (D-FL) introduced H.R. 7066, the “Stopping Hikes In Electricity from Large Load Demands (SHIELD) Act.” The legislation would amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act to direct state public utilities commissions (PUCs) to consider implementing two new federal standards. One standard would ensure households don’t pay for grid upgrades from large-load facilities, and the other would incentivize large-load facilities to use zero-emission electricity and energy saving measures such as energy efficiency and on-site energy storage. More information on the legislation can be found here.
- On January 8, Reps. Rob Menedez (D-NJ-) and Greg Casar (D-TX) introduced H.R. 6983, the “Preventing Rate Inflation in Consumer Energy (PRICE) Act” and H.R. 6984, “the Data Center Transparency Act.” The PRICE Act would require data centers to generate the electricity they consume and that it be 100% renewable by 2040. The Data Center Transparency Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency to collect and update data every three months on the environmental impacts that data centers.
- On January 8, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced S.3585, the “Decentralized Access to Technology Alternatives (DATA) Act.” This legislation would create a new class of power producers known as “consumer-regulated electric utilities (CREU),” that could provide retail service to new electric loads if their system is physically isolated from the bulk power grid and other utilities. The CREUs would be exempt from most federal regulations governing electricity production and transmission. This would allow data center developers to build on-site generation and distribution systems separate from the grid at faster timelines. More information on the legislation can be found here.
