Data Center Community Impact Act

Key Points

• This bill requires the Department of Energy to study how data centers—the massive buildings that power the internet and AI—affect the people living nearby. It specifically looks at the impact on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color where these facilities are often built.
• The study will track how much water and electricity these centers use. Because data centers need huge amounts of water for cooling and massive amounts of power, they can sometimes strain local supplies or cause electricity bills to go up for everyone else in the area.
• Researchers will also look at air pollution from backup power generators, changes to local farmland, and whether these centers actually provide jobs to local residents or if they drive people out of their neighborhoods.
• After 18 months, the government must release a report with a map of where these centers are and offer advice to local leaders on how to protect their communities from any negative effects.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.