IIB 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5646 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 13, 2006 

Received 

AUGUST 4 (legislative day, AUGUST 3), 2006 

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

AN ACT 

To study and promote the use of energy efficient computer 

servers in the United States. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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HR 5646 RFS 

1 SECTION 1. STUDY. 

2 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro4 tection Agency, through the Energy Star program, shall 

5 transmit to the Congress the results of a study analyzing 

6 the rapid growth and energy consumption of computer 

7 data centers by the Federal Government and private en8 terprise. The study shall include— 

9 (1) an overview of the growth trends associated 

10 with data centers and the utilization of servers in 

11 the Federal Government and private sector; 

12 (2) analysis of the industry migration to the use 

13 of energy efficient microchips and servers designed 

14 to provide energy efficient computing and reduce the 

15 costs associated with constructing, operating, and 

16 maintaining large and medium scale data centers; 

17 (3) analysis of the potential cost savings to the 

18 Federal Government, large institutional data center 

19 operators, private enterprise, and consumers avail20 able through the adoption of energy efficient data 

21 centers and servers; 

22 (4) analysis of the potential cost savings and 

23 benefits to the energy supply chain through the 

24 adoption of energy efficient data centers and servers, 

25 including reduced demand, enhanced capacity, and 

26 reduced strain on existing grid infrastructure, and 


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HR 5646 RFS 

1 consideration of secondary benefits, including poten2 tial impact of related advantages associated with 

3 substantial domestic energy savings; 

4 (5) analysis of the potential impacts of energy 

5 efficiency on product performance, including com6 puting functionality, reliability, speed, and features, 

7 and overall cost; 

8 (6) analysis of the potential cost savings and 

9 benefits to the energy supply chain through the use 

10 of stationary fuel cells for backup power and distrib11 uted generation; 

12 (7) an overview of current government incen13 tives offered for energy efficient products and serv14 ices and consideration of similar incentives to en15 courage the adoption of energy efficient data centers 

16 and servers; 

17 (8) recommendations regarding potential incen18 tives and voluntary programs that could be used to 

19 advance the adoption of energy efficient data centers 

20 and computing; and 

21 (9) a meaningful opportunity for interested 

22 stakeholders, including affected industry stake23 holders and energy efficiency advocates, to provide 

24 comments, data, and other information on the scope, 

25 contents, and conclusions of the study. 


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HR 5646 RFS 

1 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that it is in the best inter3 est of the United States for purchasers of computer serv4 ers to give high priority to energy efficiency as a factor 

5 in determining best value and performance for purchases 

6 of computer servers. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 12, 2006. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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