The House Science, Space and Technology Committee approved legislation Thursday that would standardize how the federal government studies data centers and their energy and water use. The committee passed H.R. 9372, the Data Infrastructure Energy Measurement and Standards Act, 34-1. Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) was the lone no vote. The bill, led by Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), would direct the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to draw up standards and best practices for reporting the energy and water use of artificial intelligence data centers.

Other data center water use news:

• NBC Palm Springs (Calif.): Desert Hot Springs hits pause on data centers
• Shasta Scout (Redding, Calif.): Reach-out from an unnamed entity raises fears about possible data center in Mount Shasta region
• Calexico Chronicle (Calif.): Opinion: The data center/water rights quagmire
• Bloomberg Law: Opinion: Don’t overlook environmental risks when making data center plans