Data Centers Brace for Obama's New Energy Plan

Data centers are part of the greenhouse gas problem, and their operators may soon start paying to help fix it under President Barack Obama's proposed cap-and-trade energy plan.

The cap-and-trade scheme is designed to impose higher costs on power generators that don't use so-called clean energy sources. The government would cap overall carbon dioxide emissions and then auction off permits enabling companies to exceed the limits -- essentially adding an indirect tax on some forms of energy, such as coal-fired electricity.

Power bills likely would increase as utilities forced to buy the permits passed the added costs on to their customers. And over time, the pool of permits would decrease, sending electricity costs further upward unless generators switched to cleaner energy sources.

The White House has yet to detail the mechanics of its cap-and-trade plan, and a major battle is expected in Congress. But Obama appears to be committed to the idea. His proposed budget for the next fiscal year includes funding for a cap-and-trade program. And at a March 24 press conference, he reaffirmed his support for the new approach, saying that it would start "pricing the pollution that is being sent into the atmosphere."
Data centers clearly are among the facilities that would be in the bull's-eye of a cap-and-trade program -- either directly or indirectly.

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