PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Subramanyam, Suhas [D-VA-10] · D–VA
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Sep 16, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze H.R.10321 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine H.R.10321 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine H.R.10321 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine H.R.10321 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.
PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-08 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed Responsible Data Center Siting Act of 2026 would require the Department of Energy to publish guidance on choosing locations for data centers. The guidance would consider effects on electricity, water, the environment, nearby communities, national security, jobs, and local economies. It would describe sites that minimize negative impacts and list ideal locations, potentially informing decisions affecting developers and nearby residents.
This Act may be cited as the Responsible Data Center Siting Act of 2026.
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.
(d) Initial publication Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall make available on the public website of the Department of Energy the best practices for the siting of data centers established under subsection (a).
(c) Inclusion The Secretary of Energy shall include in the best practices established or revised under this section— (1) the characteristics of a site for the siting of a data center that would minimize any impacts described in subsection (b) that are negative; and (2) a list of ideal locations that meet such characteristics for a data center to be sited.
(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
(2) the impacts of the water use by the data center, including impacts on water availability to local residents and the surrounding environment;
(3) the impacts of a data center on the surrounding environment
(4) the impacts of a data center on local communities
(5) the national security implications of the siting of a data center at various types of locations, including implications of siting multiple data centers in a particular location;
(6) the impacts of a data center on the local workforce, including on long term and short term job opportunities; and (7) the impacts of a data center on the local economy, including on tax revenue, with consideration of tax benefits offered at the State level.
The Energy Secretary would develop the guidance in consultation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Defense Secretary, and any other agencies the Energy Secretary considers appropriate.
(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.
When developing or revising the guidance, the Secretary would have to consider electricity-price changes attributable to a data center, additional infrastructure needed to carry electricity, existing infrastructure availability and capacity, and timelines for connecting a data center to the grid.
(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;
The guidance would have to consider water use and its effects on local residents and the environment. It would also address water and air quality, ecosystems, emissions—including from electricity generated at the data center—and other environmental impacts the Secretary considers appropriate.
(2) the impacts of the water use by the data center, including impacts on water availability to local residents and the surrounding environment; (3) the impacts of a data center on the surrounding environment, including— (A) impacts on water quality and air quality; (B) impacts to surrounding ecosystems; (C) impacts on emissions, including from on-site electricity generation; and (D) any other environmental impacts the Secretary determines appropriate;
The Secretary would have to consider how a data center's noise, light, and appearance affect the surrounding community, including noise and light from electricity generated on site.
(4) the impacts of a data center on local communities, including impacts of— (A) noise and light generated by a data center, including from on-site electricity generation; and (B) the appearance of a data center on the character of the community;
The Secretary would have to consider national security implications of different locations, including concentrating multiple data centers in one location.
(5) the national security implications of the siting of a data center at various types of locations, including implications of siting multiple data centers in a particular location;
The Secretary would have to consider effects on short-term and long-term job opportunities and the local economy, including tax revenue and state tax benefits. These are subjects for assessment; the provision does not establish that data centers produce any particular economic outcome.
(6) the impacts of a data center on the local workforce, including on long term and short term job opportunities; and (7) the impacts of a data center on the local economy, including on tax revenue, with consideration of tax benefits offered at the State level.
The guidance would have to identify site characteristics that minimize negative impacts covered by the bill and list ideal locations meeting those characteristics.
(c) Inclusion The Secretary of Energy shall include in the best practices established or revised under this section— (1) the characteristics of a site for the siting of a data center that would minimize any impacts described in subsection (b) that are negative; and (2) a list of ideal locations that meet such characteristics for a data center to be sited.
The Department of Energy would have to publish the initial guidance on its public website within one year after enactment. This deadline depends on enactment, rather than the bill's introduction date.
(d) Initial publication Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall make available on the public website of the Department of Energy the best practices for the siting of data centers established under subsection (a).
Within two years after initial publication, and at least every two years afterward, the Secretary would have to review the guidance, revise it as the Secretary considers necessary, and publish any revisions online.
(e) Revisions Not later than 2 years after making available on the public website of the Department of Energy best practices for the siting of data centers under subsection (d), and at least once every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall— (1) review and revise the best practices as the Secretary determines necessary; and (2) make available on the public website of the Department of Energy any such revised best practices.
The proposal would use the definition of “data center” in section 453 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. That definition is referenced but not reproduced in the supplied text.
(f) Definition In this Act, the term data center has the meaning given such term in section 453 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17112).
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 16, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 8, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-16T14:19:09Z. 2026-09-08: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. 2026-09-08: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-08. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy attached to appropriations was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential treatment was identified after reviewing the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 16, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI