US Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and John Fetterman have introduced the Clean Cloud Act of 2025. This bill aims to reduce carbon emissions from energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining operations and artificial intelligence data centers.

This comes at a time when Bitcoin miners are increasingly shifting to renewable energy sources.

Clean Cloud Act, Increasing Energy Demand... Bitcoin Mining

According to the bill, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will have the authority to set annual carbon performance standards for facilities with over 100 kilowatts of IT power installed.

These standards will be strengthened annually, with emission limits decreasing by 11% each year.

Companies exceeding the limit will need to pay an initial fee of $20 per ton of carbon dioxide. This fee will increase annually with inflation and an additional $10 per ton. The bill also implements strict accounting methods, including indirect emissions.

Legislators argue that cryptocurrency miners and AI centers are increasing power demand at an unsustainable rate. According to them, current clean energy sources cannot keep up with the rapid increase in Bitcoin mining demand.

They pointed out that data centers alone use 4% of US electricity and could reach 12% by 2028. They also mentioned that utility companies are restarting old coal power plants to meet increasing demand, worsening the nation's carbon footprint.

Considering this situation, Senator Whitehouse noted that this pressure is increasing electricity costs for consumers. He said the bill will encourage tech companies to invest in clean energy and help the US power grid achieve net-zero emissions within the next 10 years.

"The good news is that we don't have to choose between leading the world in AI and leading the world in climate safety. Large tech and AI companies have all the funding needed to develop new clean energy sources, instead of overloading local power and causing fossil fuel pollution. The Clean Cloud Act will incentivize utilities and the growing cryptocurrency and AI industries to invest in new clean energy sources," the legislator stated.

To protect low-income households, 25% of the revenue from emission penalties will be used to offset energy costs. The remainder will be used for grants supporting long-term storage and clean power generation projects.

Meanwhile, this move comes at a time when the cryptocurrency industry is gradually transitioning to environmentally friendly energy.

According to a recent MiCA Crypto Alliance report, 41% of Bitcoin mining was powered by renewable energy by the end of 2024, an increase from 20% in 2011.

Based on this rapid adoption rate, the report predicts that renewable energy could support over 70% of mining activities by 2030, driven by cost-effectiveness, policy changes, and a transition to sustainable practices.