Data Centers: Energy and Water Use Reporting
A house committee must act next: committee consideration.
While there is growing concern about data center energy use, this bill currently lacks broad bipartisan support and faces a long path through committee.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Data centers in agricultural regions often compete with farms for local water supplies, especially for cooling systems. This bill requires disclosure of water sources and volumes used by data centers, giving farmers and water regulators better information to track competition for limited water resources.
“total water use and the source of that water during each month of that calendar year”
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
The EPA issued guidance clarifying that power plants serving only data centers are exempt from certain federal pollution laws. The move comes as the agency prepares for new reporting requirements under the Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act to track the industry's resource footprint.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved the Ratepayer Protection Act, but Democrats warned it lacks the water transparency found in Senator Durbin's Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act, which requires facilities over 25MW to disclose monthly water and electricity consumption.
Senator Mark Warner introduced the Data Center Tax Accountability and Disclosure Act, joining a push for federal standards. The bill aligns with the Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act, requiring large facilities to report energy and water use to ensure they don't strain local utilities.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act of 2026
Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.