A draft bill in the US Senate, led by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman, proposes fees for data centers serving blockchain networks and AI models that exceed federal emissions targets. Named the Clean Cloud Act, the legislation aims to address the environmental impacts of rising energy demands and set emissions performance standards for data centers and crypto mining facilities with over 100 KW of installed power. The standards require an 11% annual reduction in emissions based on regional grid intensities, with penalties starting at $20 per ton of CO2e for any excess emissions, increasing annually by inflation plus an additional $10. This follows concerns about the growing electricity consumption of data centers, projected to account for up to 12% of total US power demand by 2028. The act's implications could clash with previous executive orders regarding AI safety standards. Bitcoin miners are adapting by diversifying into AI data-center hosting to mitigate business model impacts caused by declining crypto prices and potential trade wars.

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