1.Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency, through the Energy Star program, shall transmit to the Congress the
results of a study analyzing the rapid growth and energy consumption of
computer data centers by the Federal Government and private enterprise. The
study shall include—
(1)an overview of
the growth trends associated with data centers and the utilization of servers
in the Federal Government and private sector;
(2)analysis of the
industry migration to the use of energy efficient microchips and servers
designed to provide energy efficient computing and reduce the costs associated
with constructing, operating, and maintaining large and medium scale data
centers;
(3)analysis of the
potential cost savings to the Federal Government, large institutional data
center operators, private enterprise, and consumers available through the
adoption of energy efficient data centers and servers;
(4)analysis of the
potential cost savings and benefits to the energy supply chain through the
adoption of energy efficient data centers and servers, including reduced
demand, enhanced capacity, and reduced strain on existing grid infrastructure,
and consideration of secondary benefits, including potential impact of related
advantages associated with substantial domestic energy savings;
(5)analysis of the
potential impacts of energy efficiency on product performance, including
computing functionality, reliability, speed, and features, and overall
cost;
(6)analysis of the
potential cost savings and benefits to the energy supply chain through the use
of stationary fuel cells for backup power and distributed generation;
(7)an overview of
current government incentives offered for energy efficient products and
services and consideration of similar incentives to encourage the adoption of
energy efficient data centers and servers;
(8)recommendations
regarding potential incentives and voluntary programs that could be used to
advance the adoption of energy efficient data centers and computing; and
(9)a meaningful
opportunity for interested stakeholders, including affected industry
stakeholders and energy efficiency advocates, to provide comments, data, and
other information on the scope, contents, and conclusions of the study.
2.It is the sense of
Congress that it is in the best interest of the United States for purchasers of
computer servers to give high priority to energy efficiency as a factor in
determining best value and performance for purchases of computer
servers.