II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 129 

To study and promote the use of energy-efficient computer servers in the 

United States. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 4, 2007 

Mr. ALLARD 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. 

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

3 SECTION 1. STUDY. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the 

6 Environmental Protection Agency, acting through the En7 ergy Star program, shall submit to Congress a report de8 scribing the results of a study analyzing the rapid growth 

9 and energy consumption of computer data centers by the 

10 Federal Government and the private sector. 


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1 (b) INCLUSIONS.—The study shall include— 

2 (1) an overview of the growth trends associated 

3 with data centers and the use of servers in the Fed4 eral Government and private sector; 

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

6 of energy-efficient microchips and servers designed 

7 to provide energy-efficient computing and reduce the 

8 costs associated with constructing, operating, and 

9 maintaining large- and medium-scale data centers; 

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

11 Federal Government, large institutional data center 

12 operators, the private sector, and consumers avail13 able through the adoption of energy-efficient data 

14 centers and servers; 

15 (4) analysis of the potential cost savings and 

16 benefits to the energy supply chain through the 

17 adoption of energy-efficient data centers and servers, 

18 including— 

19 (A) reduced demand, enhanced capacity, 

20 and reduced strain on existing grid infrastruc21 ture; and 

22 (B) consideration of secondary benefits, in23 cluding the potential impact of related advan24 tages associated with substantial domestic en25 ergy savings; 


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1 (5) analysis of the potential impacts of energy 

2 efficiency on product performance, including com3 puting functionality, reliability, speed, and features, 

4 and overall cost; 

5 (6) analysis of the potential cost savings and 

6 benefits to the energy supply chain through the use 

7 of stationary fuel cells for backup power and distrib8 uted generation; 

9 (7) an overview of current government incen10 tives offered for energy-efficient products and serv11 ices and consideration of similar incentives to en12 courage the adoption of energy-efficient data centers 

13 and servers; 

14 (8) recommendations regarding potential incen15 tives and voluntary programs that could be used to 

16 advance the adoption of energy-efficient data centers 

17 and computing; and 

18 (9) a meaningful opportunity for interested 

19 stakeholders, including affected industry stake20 holders and energy efficiency advocates, to provide 

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

22 contents, and conclusions of the study. 

23 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

24 It is the sense of Congress that it is in the best inter25 est of the United States for purchasers of computer servVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:15 Jan 07, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S129.IS S129

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1 ers to give high priority to energy efficiency as a factor 

2 in determining best value and performance for purchases 

3 of computer servers. 

Æ 


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