Data centers: reporting

The reporting will give state energy planners and local permitting agencies clearer data on data centers’ electricity demand, grid effects, and operating impacts.

What the law does ​

• Requires data centers with at least 10 megawatts of electrical capacity to report facility, energy-use, efficiency, onsite generation, fuel, cooling, storage, and demand-flexibility information to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
• Requires reporting when a data center is energized, after substantive changes, and at least annually under Commission-set procedures and deadlines.
• Requires the Commission, beginning with its 2029 integrated energy policy report, to assess data-center load trends, peak demand, and ways to reduce impacts on grid capacity, reliability, and greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Requires the Commission to annually publish submitted operational information in anonymized, aggregated form.
• Requires applicants for local discretionary approvals to provide expected annual energy use, onsite electricity generation, and operating noise estimates.
• Allows local agencies to use those estimates for land-use and infrastructure planning, energy-supply assessment, and environmental review.
• Protects personally identifiable information and a specific data-center customer’s energy-use data from disclosure.

Who it affects ​

• Owners and operators of data centers with at least 10 megawatts of electrical capacity.
• Cities and counties with discretionary permitting or land-use authority over data centers.
• The State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
• Publicly funded research, public safety, publicly funded national-security, publicly owned, and specified utility facilities are exempt.

Context ​

The law does not require disclosure of customer-specific energy-use data or information otherwise protected from disclosure by law.