Could This Bill Make It Harder to Stop a Data Center Near You?

After Congress failed to pass the Ratepayer Protection Act, a bipartisan 416-page bill would require data centers drawing 20 megawatts or more to pay for their own electricity and all associated grid upgrade costs. It would also speed permitting for new energy infrastructure. The Senate is expected to take it up when it returns in November. Critics say the bill scales back environmental reviews for water and air quality and sidelines community concerns like noise and light pollution. They also object that it makes states provide more evidence to deny federal projects such as pipelines, and that it complicates lawsuits against data center projects. The Ratepayer Protection Act passed the House with near-unanimous support but failed in the Senate. It covered only projects of 100 megawatts or more and required only that state utility boards consider making data centers pay. Senate Democrats cited that lack of a mandate as a main reason for opposing it.