A bill to study and promote the use of energy efficient computer servers in the United States.

Requires the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), through the Energy Star program, to analyze and report to Congress on the growth and energy consumption of computer data centers by the federal government and private enterprise.

Expresses the sense of Congress that it is in the United States' best interest for purchasers of computer servers to give high priority to energy efficiency as a factor in determining best value and performance for purchases of servers.

[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3684 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3684

 To study and promote the use of energy efficient computer servers in 
                           the United States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 18, 2006

 Mr. Allen (for himself, Mr. Bingaman, and Mrs. Boxer) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To study and promote the use of energy efficient computer servers in 
                           the United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. STUDY.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, through the 
Energy Star program, shall transmit to the Congress the results of a 
study analyzing the rapid growth and energy consumption of computer 
data centers by the Federal Government and private enterprise. The 
study shall include--
            (1) an overview of the growth trends associated with data 
        centers and the utilization of servers in the Federal 
        Government and private sector;
            (2) analysis of the industry migration to the use of energy 
        efficient microchips and servers designed to provide energy 
        efficient computing and reduce the costs associated with 
        constructing, operating, and maintaining large and medium scale 
        data centers;
            (3) analysis of the potential cost savings to the Federal 
        Government, large institutional data center operators, private 
        enterprise, and consumers available through the adoption of 
        energy efficient data centers and servers;
            (4) analysis of the potential cost savings and benefits to 
        the energy supply chain through the adoption of energy 
        efficient data centers and servers, including reduced demand, 
        enhanced capacity, and reduced strain on existing grid 
        infrastructure, and consideration of secondary benefits, 
        including potential impact of related advantages associated 
        with substantial domestic energy savings;
            (5) analysis of the potential impacts of energy efficiency 
        on product performance, including computing functionality, 
        reliability, speed, and features, and overall cost;
            (6) analysis of the potential cost savings and benefits to 
        the energy supply chain through the use of stationary fuel 
        cells for backup power and distributed generation;
            (7) an overview of current government incentives offered 
        for energy efficient products and services and consideration of 
        similar incentives to encourage the adoption of energy 
        efficient data centers and servers;
            (8) recommendations regarding potential incentives and 
        voluntary programs that could be used to advance the adoption 
        of energy efficient data centers and computing; and
            (9) a meaningful opportunity for interested stakeholders, 
        including affected industry stakeholders and energy efficiency 
        advocates, to provide comments, data, and other information on 
        the scope, contents, and conclusions of the study.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of Congress that it is in the best interest of the 
United States for purchasers of computer servers to give high priority 
to energy efficiency as a factor in determining best value and 
performance for purchases of computer servers.
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