Findings

Congress finds that— (1) data centers are estimated to account for approximately— (A) 1 percent of global electricity demand; and (B) 4 percent of United States electricity use; (2) the growing demand for information technology and artificial intelligence will increase the demand for data center services; (3) the global COVID–19 pandemic has further increased the demand described in paragraph (2) beyond previous projections; (4) data centers are projected to account for up to 12 percent of United States electricity use by 2028; (5) future electricity consumption and efficiency trends will be determined by management practices, demand for services, and adoption of efficient technologies; (6) proof-of-work cryptocurrencies are by design an increasingly energy intensive process; (7) studies estimate that— (A) the total network hashrate for Bitcoin mining in the United States has increased 739 percent between September 2020 and January 2022; and (B) as of July 2021, the greatest share of Bitcoin mining occurs in the United States; (8) there is a lack of transparency regarding the energy sources used to power domestic cryptomining and many data center operations; and (9) retired and retiring fossil fuel plants in the United States are being brought back online to power cryptomining facilities and data centers, which increases associated carbon emissions.