Sources & Resources

Archive of the 2026 legislative session where data center bills HB 1005, HB 1038, HB 1246, HB 1301, SB 127, SB 128, SB 234, SB 235, and SB 239 were considered.

Official source for all bill text, voting records, and committee information used in our scorecard.

EIA analysis projecting data center electricity demand could double or triple by 2030.

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) infrastructure service for organizations to store, manage, process, and transmit large amounts of data. Some projections show that data center energy consumption could double or triple by 2028, accounting for up to 12% of U.S. electricity use

North American Electric Reliability Corporation long-term reliability assessment addressing grid strain from large loads.

Research on data center cooling water consumption and efficiency measures.

A call for Empirical research and its need Data centers (Fig. 1) —the backbone of the digital economy—are rapidly expanding globally to meet surging demand, yet this growth brings underappreciated risks to human health. They consumed 1.5% of global electricity in 2024 and are expected to represent nearly 10% of the electricity demand growth from 2024 to 2030 [1]. Despite efforts to curb their carbon and water footprints, the public health implications of data center expansion remain largely overlooked.

The rapid growth of AI isn’t just a power challenge—it’s also impacting public health with an annual cost of up to $20 billion in the U.S. by 2028. As public health begins to take center stage in global discussions, it’s time to demonstrate leadership in responsible AI by proactively integrating health impacts into the design and deployment of AI—an approach called “health-informed AI.” Health-informed AI is not limited to technology companies operating their own data centers; it also applies to any organization (or even individuals) deploying cloud-based AI that can strategically run AI tasks in regions with lower public health impacts.

Water conservation in AI through closed-loop cooling, while beneficial, introduces complex chemical management issues. These systems involve additives and metals that require careful monitoring to avoid environmental and regulatory problems. Insufficient testing leads to data deficits and increases the risk of compliance breaches.

Analysis of state tax incentives for data centers and their actual economic returns.

Tracking of data center subsidies and tax breaks across U.S. states.

Planning considerations for communities facing large-scale data center development.

How communities near data centers are raising concerns about noise from cooling systems and backup generators.

The AI data center frenzy presents one of the greatest environmental and social challenges of our generation. Fossil fuels are already warming our climate to unsustainable levels and threatening our food, water, and health. The data center boom, driven by rising use of artificial intelligence (AI), is dousing this fire with gasoline. Energy demand and fossil fuel production are soaring, while water resources are draining. On top of this, AI threatens significant, long-term impacts on our society — from lost jobs to social instability to corporate consolidation. We cannot allow an industry with such significant environmental and societal impacts to grow unfettered, without a clear regulatory framework. It’s time to pump the brakes. It’s time for a moratorium on new data centers.

Regulator for utility rates and large customer agreements in South Dakota.

Official election results used to track which legislators won or lost their primaries.