Data centers are black boxes, but California wants to change that
Data centers are black boxes, but California wants to change that
数据中心曾是“黑箱”，但加州正试图改变这一现状
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills on Monday that could finally give communities better data — and more say — on how data centers impact their electricity bills and water supply. 加州州长加文·纽森（Gavin Newsom）周一签署了一系列法案，这些法案最终有望让社区获得更准确的数据，并在数据中心如何影响其电费和供水方面拥有更多话语权。
As data centers invade a growing number of communities across the US, they’ve triggered protests over how the infrastructure underpinning AI might stress power grids and local water systems. That’s fueled partly by concerns about how difficult it is to see just how much electricity or water they’re actually gobbling up. California’s new disclosure rules won’t offer a full picture, but starting next year, data center operators will have to start sharing some of these details. The transparency will help scientists and the public see whether data centers are raising bills, draining dwindling resources, and making good on sustainability commitments. 随着数据中心在美国越来越多的社区落地，它们引发了人们的抗议，担忧支撑人工智能的基础设施可能会给电网和当地水系统带来压力。这种担忧部分源于一个事实：很难查清这些设施到底消耗了多少电力或水资源。加州的新披露规则虽然无法提供全貌，但从明年开始，数据中心运营商将必须开始分享部分细节。这种透明度将有助于科学家和公众判断数据中心是否在推高电费、耗尽稀缺资源，以及是否履行了可持续发展承诺。
“It’s extremely frustrating to try to understand basic information,” says Mark Specht, senior manager for the climate and energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). “There’s a lot of hype about data centers right now … It doesn’t help that we just don’t have basic facts about what’s happening with them to try to understand how much of a problem they are.” “试图了解基本信息的过程令人极其沮丧，”忧思科学家联盟（UCS）气候与能源项目高级经理马克·斯佩希特（Mark Specht）表示，“目前关于数据中心的炒作很多……而我们甚至缺乏关于它们现状的基本事实，这让我们很难判断它们到底造成了多大的问题。”
The seven bills Newsom signed go beyond requiring disclosures. Senate Bill 886, Assembly Bill 2383, and Senate Bill 1168 direct the California Public Utilities Commission to create separate power rates for data centers to recoup the costs of connecting such power-hungry facilities to the grid. That’s supposed to prevent data centers from passing on the costs to other consumers of new infrastructure built to satisfy their energy demand. On top of that, AB 2383 also pushes data centers to use more renewable energy. 纽森签署的七项法案不仅限于要求信息披露。参议院第886号法案、众议院第2383号法案和参议院第1168号法案指示加州公用事业委员会为数据中心制定单独的电价，以收回将这些高耗能设施接入电网的成本。此举旨在防止数据中心将为满足其能源需求而新建基础设施的成本转嫁给其他消费者。此外，AB 2383法案还推动数据中心使用更多的可再生能源。
The rest of the legislation grapples with the enormous gaps the public has when it comes to how data centers impact surrounding communities and the environment. AB 1577 requires monthly reporting on data centers’ energy consumption. AB 2619 and AB 2469 require water disclosures, and the latter also makes data center operators responsible for covering the costs of infrastructure upgrades needed to serve them. And SB 887 eliminates categorical exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act for data centers, ensuring that they’re subject to environmental review. 其余法案则致力于解决公众在了解数据中心如何影响周边社区和环境方面存在的巨大信息鸿沟。AB 1577法案要求按月报告数据中心的能源消耗情况。AB 2619和AB 2469法案要求披露用水情况，后者还规定数据中心运营商必须承担为服务其设施而进行基础设施升级的费用。SB 887法案则取消了《加州环境质量法》中对数据中心的分类豁免，确保它们必须接受环境审查。
“As scientists, when we went to research state offers in California, I was kind of dismayed by the lack of information that there was to work with. And so I’m happy [AB 1577] passed,” Specht says. “作为科学家，当我们研究加州的州政府提议时，我对于可供参考的信息之匮乏感到相当沮丧。所以我很高兴（AB 1577）能够通过，”斯佩希特说道。
Specht co-authored a fact sheet this year on how data centers could impact the power grid and utility rates in California. It describes one scenario where several factors drive up costs for Californians: ballooning electricity demand; a need for expensive new infrastructure to connect data centers to high-voltage transmission systems; and the risk of overbuilding if the AI bubble pops and data centers don’t end up using as much electricity as projected, leaving other utility customers to foot the bill. 斯佩希特今年参与撰写了一份关于数据中心如何影响加州电网和公用事业费率的情况说明书。书中描述了一种可能导致加州居民成本上升的情景：电力需求激增；需要昂贵的新基础设施将数据中心连接到高压输电系统；以及如果人工智能泡沫破裂，数据中心最终消耗的电力未达预期，导致过度建设的风险，最终由其他公用事业用户来买单。
On the other hand, a different scenario shows data centers could actually lower electricity costs. Electricity rates include fixed costs for grid maintenance, so spreading those costs across more customers can bring bills down for everyone. The catch is that the potential savings depend on data centers contributing to costs across the distribution system that serves smaller customers at lower voltages. Large data centers often avoid these costs by connecting instead to the transmission system, which carries high-voltage electricity. 另一方面，另一种情景显示数据中心实际上可能降低电费。电价中包含了电网维护的固定成本，因此将这些成本分摊给更多的用户可以降低每个人的账单。关键在于，这种潜在的节省取决于数据中心是否为服务于低压小用户的配电系统分摊了成本。大型数据中心通常通过直接连接到承载高压电的输电系统来规避这些成本。
Without more information, it’s impossible to say which scenario is taking shape in California. “I wouldn’t say definitively that data centers have increased the cost [of electricity],” Specht says. “It’s possible they may even have brought them down some already, I just don’t think we have the numbers to demonstrate it.” 在没有更多信息的情况下，无法判断加州目前正在形成哪种情景。“我不会断言数据中心已经增加了（电费）成本，”斯佩希特说，“它们甚至有可能已经降低了一些成本，我只是认为我们目前没有数据来证明这一点。”
Even if data centers aren’t having much effect on electricity rates yet, that’s likely to change as their power needs grow, Specht adds — making it all the more important to see how much energy they’re using. “It’s just about getting ahead of it before we all start feeling it,” he tells The Verge. 斯佩希特补充说，即使数据中心目前对电价影响不大，随着它们电力需求的增长，这种情况很可能会改变——因此，了解它们到底消耗了多少能源就显得尤为重要。“这只是为了在我们所有人都感受到影响之前，提前做好准备，”他告诉《The Verge》。
Data centers’ water use has been just as opaque. While studying the impact of data centers on water-stressed communities in California, researchers from Santa Clara University recently contacted every water provider in districts housing data centers. Citing privacy regulations, the providers in every district refused to share data on how much water data centers use. The researchers also discovered that very few data centers in the state had environmental impact reports available to the public. 数据中心的用水情况同样不透明。在研究数据中心对加州缺水社区的影响时，圣克拉拉大学的研究人员最近联系了所有拥有数据中心的地区的供水商。这些供水商均以隐私法规为由，拒绝分享数据中心的用水量数据。研究人员还发现，加州很少有数据中心向公众提供环境影响报告。
That dearth of information is even more concerning considering what the researchers were able to find. As AI drives the development of hyperscale data centers, these facilities are moving farther from more affluent urban areas into more rural areas where small water systems and lower-income communities may have more difficulty coping with the added demand. 考虑到研究人员所发现的情况，这种信息匮乏更加令人担忧。随着人工智能推动超大规模数据中心的发展，这些设施正从较富裕的城市地区向更偏远的农村地区转移，而在这些地区，小型供水系统和低收入社区可能更难应对额外增加的需求。