120 STAT. 2920 PUBLIC LAW 109–431—DEC. 20, 2006

Public Law 109–431

109th Congress

An Act

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

Deadline.

Dec. 20, 2006

[H.R. 5646]

PUBLIC LAW 109–431—DEC. 20, 2006 120 STAT. 2921

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 5646:

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 109–538 (Comm. on Energy and Commerce).

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 152 (2006):

July 11, 12, considered and passed House.

Dec. 7, considered and passed Senate.

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(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.

Approved December 20, 2006.