GREEN Communications Act

Generating Resilient and Energy Efficient Network Communications Act or the GREEN Communications Act

This bill establishes a program and sets out other requirements for federal agencies concerning the efficiency and resiliency of communications infrastructure.

Specifically, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) must competitively award grants and revolving loans to public or private providers, operators, or owners of communications networks or communications infrastructure for efficiency and resiliency projects. The NTIA must also (1) develop best practices concerning energy-efficient and carbon-neutral communications infrastructure, and (2) annually report on the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions of communications infrastructure and certain network outages.

Additionally, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must establish a framework to promote resilient communications networks and communications infrastructure. The FCC must consult with specified federal entities on the framework. The FCC must also

• report on the feasibility of maintaining a map of projected risks to communications infrastructure arising from severe weather, natural disasters, and climate change;
• provide technical assistance to a provider, owner, or operator of communications infrastructure concerning risks and vulnerabilities related to severe weather, natural disasters, and climate change; and
• require broadband network outages to be reported to the Network Outage Reporting System.

The bill also requires the Department of Energy to report on the projected growth of electrical consumption of, and recommendations for energy efficiency standards for, data centers in the United States.