S. 4213 Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act introduced

Mr. Durbin introduced a bill in the Senate on March 25, 2026, to require data center operators to submit reports on energy and water use to states or federal agencies. The measure, S. 4213, was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. It may be cited as the Data Center Water and Energy Transparency Act of 2026. The legislation defines terms for data centers, energy use, power usage effectiveness, water usage effectiveness, and water use. Data center operators with one or more facilities in a state that have a peak demand of not less than 25 megawatts must submit annual reports to that state. Each report covers on-site energy use and water use for the preceding calendar year, including monthly totals for energy and water, water sources, and annual average power usage effectiveness and water usage effectiveness. Reports must also include projected on-site energy use and water use for at least the following five calendar years along with proposals for reductions and anticipated efficiency gains. If a state does not have a program to collect the required information, operators submit reports to the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Secretaries of Energy and Agriculture. The same requirements apply to persons seeking to construct new data centers or expand existing ones with projected energy use of not less than 25 megawatts. States that receive reports must submit annual aggregated and anonymized reports to the Administrator and Secretaries. The Administrator and Secretaries shall jointly make publicly available an annual report describing aggregated total energy use and water use from the collected information.