States Propose Data Center Energy Guardrails as Demand Soars (1)

Proposals to regulate data centers’ energy use and environmental impacts are popping up as states balance high hopes for the fast-growing industry with concerns about electric reliability, consumer costs, and natural resource depletion.

Legislators in at least eight states have filed or plan to file bills setting eco-conscious guardrails on the industry, which is expected to consume up to 12% of total US electricity by 2028, according to a December report from the Department of Energy.

The bills are a response to the sheer volume of data centers—which are increasingly geared toward serving artificial intelligence—under development across the country and ...