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R48646 — Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked Questions

In its simplest form, a data center is a physical facility that houses and runs large computer systems. U.S. data center annual energy use in 2023 (not accounting for cryptocurrency) was approximately 176 terawatt-hours (TWh), approximately 4.4% of U.S. annual electricity consumption that year, according to a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. A data center typically contains multiple computer servers, data storage devices, and network equipment that can provide information technology (IT) infrastruc…

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Legal stateResearch or guidanceContext or guidance does not establish a generally applicable legal requirement.
JurisdictionUnited StatesFederal-source record
Latest recorded action2026-05-13Updated by the Congressional Research Service
Primary sourceCRSOriginal public record linked

What the evidence says

Key findings

01
How it operates

Disclosure & reporting

Forces a data center’s energy, water, and impact data into public view, so regulators, ratepayers, and communities can see figures operators would otherwise keep private.

Comparable precedents

Related approaches worth comparing

Selected by shared tracked mechanisms or themes, with cross jurisdiction examples prioritized. Similarity is not legal equivalence.

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R48646 evidence graph

Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked Questions

11 nodes · 10 evidenced edges
Policy record 1Policy theme 5Policy mechanism 1Documented actor 1Policy family 1Jurisdiction 1Original source 1
explicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryexplicitly concerns: Theme named in the title or stored summaryclassified under: Fixed-vocabulary topic classificationclassified under: Fixed-vocabulary topic classificationsignals mechanism: Mechanism signal derived from the tracked record textapplies in: Jurisdiction recorded for this source typedocumented by: Original source URL stored with the policy recordpublished by: Publishing organization named in the tracked public recordmember of family: standalonePolicy recordR48646Data Centers and Their Ener…R48646: Data Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked QuestionsPolicy themeEnergyExplicit record textEnergy: Explicit record textPolicy themeWaterExplicit record textWater: Explicit record textPolicy themeCertification & Standa…Explicit record textCertification & Standards: Explicit record textPolicy themeCarbonAI-assisted policy themeCarbon: AI-assisted policy themePolicy themeGrid ReliabilityAI-assisted policy themeGrid Reliability: AI-assisted policy themePolicy mechanismDisclosure & reportingText-derived policy signalDisclosure & reporting: Text-derived policy signalJurisdictionUnited StatesFederal policy jurisdictionUnited States: Federal policy jurisdictionOriginal sourceCRSOriginal public sourceCRS: Original public sourceDocumented actorCongressional Research…organizationCongressional Research Service: organizationPolicy familyData Centers and Their…Policy familyData Centers and Their Energy Consumption: Frequently Asked Questions: Policy family

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Relationship receipts

Each edge states what was observed and why it appears. An edge never implies private influence, support, opposition, or causation.