Policies for Data Centers, 2026

This Sierra Club policy brief outlines four categories of state-level guardrails to mitigate data center impacts: ratepayer protections through large load tariffs and cross-subsidy prevention, clean energy accountability via RPS enforcement and on-site renewable mandates, reform of tax and utility incentives, and public health protections addressing cumulative air emissions from backup diesel generators. The document provides specific policy language, state legislative examples from over a dozen states, and regulatory precedents that advocates and policymakers can adapt to their own jurisdictions.