Two Democrat senators have proposed an amendment to the “Clean Air Act” to mitigate energy consumption and emissions generated from cryptocurrency mining and artificial intelligence (AI) data center operations.
The amended bill, dubbed as the “Clean Cloud Act of 2025,” was proposed by Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman.
“Energy-hungry data centers and cryptomining facilities are overloading our already strained power grid, driving up consumers’ electricity costs, making it harder for Americans to power their homes and businesses, and spiking fossil fuel emissions,” said Whitehouse.
The bill would impose a cumulative reduction to the regional emissions limit of the covered industries to 11 percent annually.
It charges that while the US is the leader in AI and Bitcoin mining, there is a “lack of transparency regarding the energy sources used to power domestic cryptomining and many data center operations.”
Ultimately, the bill seeks to create the conditions that would allow for net zero emissions by 2035. To achieve this, all crypto miners and AI data centers would have to be powered by 100 percent renewable energy.
"This bill will incentivize clean energy while also helping lower electricity prices for Pennsylvanians. This is a common-sense solution that saves our environment while saving people’s money,” said Fetterman.
The revisions to the bill would require facilities consuming over 100kW of power to submit an annual report setting out their energy use, which would include sources, consumption figures, and overall emission data.
Facilities that fail to adhere to the rules would be subject to fines, with an initial penalty of $20 per kW excess and adjusted to the inflation rate thereon. The bill would also prevent the costs from being passed onto customers.
The bill is expected to face significant opposition to the Republican held Senate, where the party has a 53 to 47 majority. The President Trump administration has been generally supportive of the cryptocurrency sector. As president, Trump has created a strategic crypto reserve, pardoned crypto-related individuals, and relaxed enforcement of the sector.
In addition, the President's sons, Eric and Donald Jr, are heavily invested into the sector through American Bitcoin Corp, which partnered with established market player Hut 8 earlier this month.
