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S. 5645Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

Data Center Community Empowerment Act of 2026

A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to establish a Data Center Community Assistance Program, and for other purposes.

Sponsored by John R. CurtisSen. John R. Curtis (R-UT)
Introduced September 30, 2026

AI-Generated Summary

Updated October 8, 2026 at 2:51 AM UTC

The Data Center Community Empowerment Act of 2026 directs the Secretary of Energy to set up a program that helps state, local, and Tribal governments understand the energy, water, infrastructure and economic effects of data center projects. Within 180 days the Secretary must create both the assistance program and a plain‑language toolkit for non‑technical officials. The goal is to give communities reliable information so they can make informed decisions about hosting data centers.

Key Provisions

  • The Secretary of Energy must establish the Data Center Community Assistance Program within 180 days of the law’s enactment.
  • The program provides technical assistance on projected electricity and water use, needed infrastructure upgrades, costs, economic impacts, tax revenues, and other community effects of data center development.
  • A publicly accessible Data Center Community Toolkit, written in plain English, must be created, containing model questions for developers, definitions of key terms, cooling system examples, utility rate explanations, case studies, and guidance on benefits and trade‑offs.
  • When a state, local, or Tribal government requests it, the Secretary can obtain data from developers and conduct an independent analysis of the project's assumptions, data reliability, and conclusions, delivering results promptly.
  • The Secretary must disclose any assumptions or uncertainties in analyses and may not recommend whether a data center should be approved or rejected, preserving neutrality.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

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

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

September 30, 2026

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

September 30, 2026

SenateIntro Referral

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

Energy and Natural Resources Committee

September 30, 2026

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued September 30, 2026

II

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 5645

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 30, 2026

Mr. Curtis (for himself and Ms. Blunt Rochester) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Energy to establish a Data Center Community Assistance Program, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Data Center Community Empowerment Act of 2026.

2.

Data Center Community Assistance Program

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Data center

The term data center means a facility, or portion of a facility, the primary function of which is to house information technology equipment used to process, store, manage, or transmit digital data.

(2)

Program

The term program means the Data Center Community Assistance Program established under subsection (b)(1).

(3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Energy.

(b)

Data center community assistance program

(1)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program, to be known as the Data Center Community Assistance Program, under which the Secretary shall provide State, local, and Tribal governments, on request, with objective and technically sound information, resources, and technical assistance regarding the potential energy, water, infrastructure, economic, and other community impacts associated with data center development.

(2)

Community technical assistance

Assistance by the Secretary under the program may include providing information and analysis relating to—

(A)

projected electricity demand, including peak and annual demand;

(B)

existing electric generation, transmission, and distribution capacity and any additional infrastructure needed to serve the data center;

(C)

anticipated costs of electric infrastructure upgrades, including which persons are expected to pay those costs, and potential impacts on other ratepayers;

(D)

projected water withdrawals and consumption, including average and peak water use;

(E)

proposed water sources and the relationship between projected use and available local water supplies;

(F)

proposed cooling technologies and associated energy and water requirements, including potential alternative technologies;

(G)

backup and onsite generation, including capacity, fuel source, and anticipated use;

(H)

expected economic impacts, including construction jobs, permanent jobs, and other employment effects;

(I)

anticipated State and local tax revenues and any tax abatements, credits, grants, infrastructure assistance, or other public incentives;

(J)

suggested information for communities to request from data center developers, electric utilities, water utilities, and other relevant entities;

(K)

information and examples from similarly situated communities, including agreements, infrastructure arrangements, resource-use practices, and other approaches to data center development; and

(L)

other relevant information relating to the potential energy, water, infrastructure, and economic impacts of data center development.

(c)

Data center community toolkit

(1)

In general

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a Data Center Community Toolkit, which shall be publicly accessible and specifically written for nontechnical local officials in plain English.

(2)

Contents

The Data Center Community Toolkit developed under paragraph (1) shall include—

(A)

model questions to ask data center developers and utilities, including questions relating to infrastructure costs;

(B)

explanations or definitions, as applicable, of the terms megawatt, megawatt-hours, power usage effectiveness, and water usage effectiveness;

(C)

examples of cooling systems;

(D)

explanations of utility rate structures;

(E)

case studies from other communities relating to data center development; and

(F)

a guide to potential benefits and tradeoffs of hosting a data center.

(d)

Independent project analysis

(1)

In general

At the request of a State, local, or Tribal government, the Secretary may—

(A)

request the applicable data center developer to voluntarily provide to the Secretary information, data, analyses, models, assumptions, estimates, projections, and other materials relating to the proposed data center; and

(B)

independently assess that information and those materials, including by evaluating—

(i)

the reasonableness of the assumptions and methodologies used;

(ii)

the reliability of the data;

(iii)

whether estimates and projections are adequately supported by the information provided; and

(iv)

the technical reasonableness of the conclusions reached.

(2)

Timeliness

The Secretary shall make every reasonable effort to provide information and analysis under paragraph (1)(B) in a timely manner, taking into consideration the timeline of the applicable State, local, or Tribal government for consideration of the proposed data center.

(e)

Neutrality

In carrying out activities under this section, the Secretary—

(1)

shall clearly identify material assumptions, limitations, and uncertainties associated with any analysis provided; and

(2)

shall not make any recommendation to a State, local, or Tribal government regarding whether any particular data center should be approved, rejected, permitted, or otherwise authorized.

(f)

Rules of construction

Nothing in this Act—

(1)

authorizes the Secretary to approve, disapprove, condition, delay, or otherwise participate in a State, local, or Tribal decision regarding the siting or development of a data center; or

(2)

limits the authority of the Secretary under any other provision of law to provide financial assistance, including grants, loans, loan guarantees, or other assistance, for a project or to an entity associated with a data center.