[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5646 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.5646

                       One Hundred Ninth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
             the third day of January, two thousand and six


                                 An Act



To study and promote the use of energy efficient computer servers in the 
                             United States.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. STUDY.
    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.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
    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.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.