PRICE Act

Summary#

This bill would require each data center in the United States to generate all of the electricity it consumes each year. A covered "data center" is a facility described in section 453(a)(1) of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that consumes at least 50 megawatts each day. The bill requires that at least 75 percent of the electricity a data center generates come from a clean energy source starting January 1, 2035, and that 100 percent come from a clean energy source starting January 1, 2040. The bill lists clean energy sources to include solar, wind, battery, green hydrogen, hydropower, and geothermal. For enforcement, a data center that violates the requirement may be assessed a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per day until the violation is fixed. The Secretary of Energy must establish an administrative process to issue penalties within 30 days after enactment.

What it means for you#

• If you operate a large data center (using at least 50 megawatts per day): you would need to generate all the electricity your site uses and meet the clean energy share deadlines (75% by 2035, 100% by 2040). Noncompliance could lead to daily fines until fixed. The Secretary of Energy would set the penalty process.
• For most people and businesses that are not operators of very large data centers: No publicly available information on direct effects.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs to the federal government or private parties. The bill does specify a civil penalty of up to $100,000 per day for violations.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.