US
Environmental Regulations for Data Centers and AI Infrastructure
Clean Air Act (CAA): Regulates emissions from stationary and mobile sources. Data centers are included under emissions regulations but are not specifically mentioned.
Clean Water Act (CWA): Requires data centers to obtain permits (Section 402 NPDES) for discharging pollutants into water, setting discharge limits and monitoring requirements.
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA): Focuses on hazardous and non-hazardous waste management, including e-waste from data centers (Subtitle C).
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA): Manages hazardous waste site cleanups. Data centers must report any hazardous substance releases as per Section 102.
Endangered Species Act (ESA): Requires environmental assessments for data center projects that could affect endangered species under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Energy Regulations
Energy Policy Act of 2005: Promotes energy efficiency and sustainability for federal data centers (Sections 102, 107, 1253).
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: Sets energy intensity reduction targets and mandates energy-efficient standards for federal buildings, aiming for 100% fossil fuel reduction by 2030.
Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI): Focuses on optimizing federal data centers through energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
National AI Research Resource Task Force Act of 2020: Recommends sustainable AI development, with data centers required to meet energy efficiency standards.
Energy Star Program: Provides certification guidelines for energy-efficient data center operations, with performance metrics like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and server power consumption thresholds.
Executive Orders
Executive Order 13834 (Efficient Federal Operations): Encourages energy-efficient technologies and mandates reductions in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.
Executive Order 14008 (Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad): Sets goals for a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050, impacting data center energy sourcing and emissions reporting.
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