Responsible Data Center Siting Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 10321 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 10321 To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish best practices for the siting of data centers. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 8, 2026 Mr. Subramanyam (for himself, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Carson, Ms. Scholten, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Stanton, and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To direct the Secretary of Energy to establish best practices for the siting of data centers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Responsible Data Center Siting Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. BEST PRACTICES FOR SITING DATA CENTERS. (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Energy, in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Secretary of Defense, and other agencies the Secretary of Energy determines appropriate, shall establish best practices for the siting of data centers. (b) Considerations.--In establishing or revising best practices for the siting of data centers under this section, the Secretary of Energy shall take into consideration-- (1) the impacts of a data center on the electric grid, including transmission infrastructure, including-- (A) changes in electricity prices for consumers that may be attributed to a data center; (B) any additional transmission infrastructure buildout needed to supply electricity to a data center; and (C) the availability and capacity of existing transmission infrastructure to transmit electricity to a data center and timelines for the connection of a data center to the electric grid; (2) the impacts of the water use by the data center, including