Two Democratic senators have unveiled the “Clean Cloud Act of 2025,” a legislative measure aimed at tackling the rising energy emissions associated with cryptocurrency mining.
On April 11, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman introduced the bill, which intends to limit emissions resulting from crypto mining operations and artificial intelligence data centers. The proposed legislation seeks to implement fines on facilities utilizing non-renewable energy sources by the year 2035.
Additionally, the bill requires annual reporting from mining operations and data centers consuming more than 100 kilowatts of power. These facilities would be obligated to disclose information regarding their electricity sources, overall consumption, and emissions intensity.
“There is a lack of transparency regarding the energy sources used to power domestic crypto mining and many data center operations,” the bill states.
Data Centers Account for 4% of U.S. Electricity Use: Congressional Findings
Estimates from Congress indicate that data centers in the United States are projected to account for up to 12% of the country’s electricity consumption by 2028.
The report highlighted a staggering 739% increase in the total network hash rate for Bitcoin mining within the United States from September 2020 to January 2022.
Furthermore, data centers are believed to represent approximately 1% of global electricity demand and 4% of total electricity use in the United States.
Bill Aims to Eliminate Mining Emissions by 2035
The draft legislation amends the original Clean Air Act, stipulating that facilities must comply with specific emissions limits as outlined in the Department of Energy’s National Transmission Needs Study.
According to the bill, the emissions caps are expected to be established by the end of this year and will decrease by 11% annually until reaching zero emissions by 2035.
Facilities exceeding the emissions limits will incur inflation-adjusted fees based on the extent of their excess emissions, as detailed in the legislation.
These penalties are intended to help mitigate residential electricity cost increases through grants allocated to states and local governments.
“Crypto and AI data centers can support clean energy, but they’re burning more fossil fuels and driving up families’ energy prices instead,” noted the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on social media platform X.
“We can lead on AI and climate safety with Senate Whitehouse’s Clean Cloud Act, which ensures that the industries profiting also pay their own way.”
Crypto & AI data centers can support clean energy, but they’re burning more fossil fuels & driving up families’ energy prices instead. We can lead on AI & climate safety with @SenWhitehouse’s Clean Cloud Act, which ensures that the industries profiting also pay their own way. pic.twitter.com/8jcjGG4Ujy
— Senate EPW Democrats (@EPWCmte) April 11, 2025
However, the proposal from the Democratic Senators may encounter resistance from Republican lawmakers. Former President Trump emphasized last year his desire for all future Bitcoin mining to occur in the United States.
Notably, Trump’s sons have also ventured into the cryptocurrency mining sector, with the energy infrastructure platform Hut 8 Corp. announcing the inception of American Bitcoin Corp, in partnership with Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.
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