California Passes Legislation for Data Center Transparency
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed several bills aimed at increasing transparency around the energy and water usage of data centers in the state. The legislation requires operators to disclose their electricity consumption, water use, and infrastructure costs starting next year. This move comes amid growing concerns over how these facilities impact local utilities and resources as they expand across the U.S. The new laws also direct California's Public Utilities Commission to establish separate power rates for data centers in order to prevent them from shifting infrastructure costs onto other consumers. Additionally, some bills push operators toward using more renewable energy and eliminate exemptions that previously allowed data centers to bypass environmental reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Topics: data centers energy use transparency laws water usage