美國國會將藉許可法案，首度在「藍色浪潮」後處理資料中心議題

作者：瓦萊麗・沃爾科維奇與尼古拉・格魯姆By Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom

華盛頓，11月9日（路透社）——一項涵蓋廣泛的跨黨派能源法案，意外成為美國國會面對資料中心與電費上漲引發民怨的第一場考驗；這股民怨也助長民主黨在上週選舉中取得壓倒性勝利。WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) - A sweeping bipartisan energy bill has unexpectedly emerged as the US Congress' first test of how to tackle public anger over data centers and rising electricity costs, which helped to power Democrats to a landslide election victory last week.

這項醞釀多年的法案預定週一送交參議院辯論，內容將加速新電廠與輸電線路的審批，同時要求大型資料中心營運商承擔更多為服務其需求所必須進行的電網升級成本。The legislation, years in the making and due to come before the Senate for debate on Monday, would speed approvals for new power plants and transmission lines, while requiring large data center operators to bear more of the cost of grid upgrades needed to serve them.

支持者表示，這項法案可能是國會近期處理AI基礎設施擴建成本的最佳機會。不過，一些民主黨人對部分條文抱持懷疑；他們曾以承諾約束資料中心作為競選訴求，而民主黨明年將掌控國會參眾兩院。這些民主黨人認為，相關條文可能鼓勵更多建設。Supporters say the bill may be Congress' best near-term opportunity to address the costs of the AI infrastructure build-out. But some Democrats, who campaigned on promises to rein in data centers and whose party will control both houses of Congress next year, are skeptical of provisions they say could encourage even more construction.

投資公司TD Cowen表示，這項「跨黨派美國可負擔與就業法案」（Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, BAAJA）通過的機率已從選前的40%降至25%。The chances of passage for the bill, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act, have fallen to 25% versus 40% before the election, according to investment firm TD Cowen.

不過，這場攻防可能有助於界定資料中心辯論的走向。外界預期，民主黨明年掌控國會後，將提出一系列針對AI與資料中心開發的法案。市場擔心AI將受到更嚴格審查，導致科技股上週大幅賣壓。But the fight may help to define the data center debate with Democrats expected to introduce a range of bills targeting AI and data center development when they take control of Congress next year. Fears of stepped-up AI scrutiny led to a steep market selloff in technology shares last week.

「民主黨是以可負擔性和資料中心問責為訴求參選並勝選，而BAAJA將讓我們立即開始兌現這兩項選舉承諾，」美國聯邦參議員、參議院環境委員會首席民主黨人、也是這項法案起草人之一的謝爾登・懷特豪斯（Sheldon Whitehouse）告訴路透社。"Democrats ran and won on affordability and data center accountability, and BAAJA will allow us to start delivering immediately on both of those election promises," US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, the top Democrat on the Senate's environment committee and one of the bill's authors, told Reuters.

「如果不把握這場勝利，我們就太傻了。」"We'd be silly not to take this win."

這項法案也將建立保護措施，目的在於防止專案失敗時，家庭、企業與其他公用事業用戶被迫買單。The legislation would also establish protections designed to prevent households, businesses and other utility customers from being left with the bill if projects fail.

「BAAJA中聚焦資料中心的文字是一個好的第一步，」保守派潔淨能源倡議組織ClearPath Action執行長傑瑞米・哈瑞爾（Jeremy Harrell）表示。「這些政策是共和黨和民主黨有共識的領域。」"The language that's in BAAJA that's focused on data centers is a good first step," said Jeremy Harrell, chief executive of ClearPath Action, a conservative clean energy advocacy group. "Those are policies where Republicans and Democrats agree."

美國總統川普（Donald Trump）已表態支持這項法案。他週日在社群媒體發文敦促參議院通過法案，並特別強調其中有關資料中心的條文。President Donald Trump, who has endorsed the bill, highlighted its data center provisions in a social media post on Sunday while urging the Senate to pass it.

川普說：「記住，中國會接收任何我們不要的資料中心，並為此付出大筆金錢。」"Remember, China will take any Data Center that we don’t want, and pay lots of money for it," Trump said.

產業公會資料中心聯盟（Data Center Coalition）尚未支持這項法案。該組織代表未立即回應媒體詢問。The Data Center Coalition, an industry trade group, has not endorsed the bill. Representatives for the group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

闖關仍不確定PASSAGE UNCERTAIN

然而，BAAJA能否通過仍遠非定局。它面臨環保與原住民族團體反對，這些團體表示，該法案削弱環境審查，並損害部落主權。BAAJA's passage, however, is far from assured. It faces opposition from environmental and tribal groups who say the legislation weakens environmental reviews and undermines tribal sovereignty.

作家兼環保人士比爾・麥基本（Bill McKibben）表示：「如果在一場很大程度上由反對資料中心所界定的選舉後，國會採取的第一項行動竟是讓資料中心更容易興建，那將極具諷刺意味。」"It would be highly ironic if the first action Congress took after an election largely defined by opposition to data centers would be to make it easier to build them," said author and environmentalist Bill McKibben.

法案起草人週六公布一套修正案，打算提出以回應其中部分疑慮，但包括塞拉俱樂部（Sierra Club）在內的幾個環保團體表示，這些修改無法化解他們的反對。The bill's authors unveiled a package of amendments on Saturday that they intend to introduce to address some of those concerns, but several environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, said the changes would not resolve their objections.

國會中也有部分民主黨人表達對該法案的疑慮，包括眾議院民主黨領袖哈基姆・傑佛瑞斯（Hakeem Jeffries）；外界預期他明年將出任眾議院議長。傑佛瑞斯週五告訴Politico新聞網，這項法案在環境保護方面不足，並且需要納入眾議院民主黨人的意見。Some Democrats in Congress have also expressed concerns with the bill, including House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is expected to become speaker next year. Jeffries told Politico on Friday that the bill falls short on environmental protections and needs input from House Democrats.

TD Cowen表示，民主黨壓倒性的選舉勝利「可能會讓那些主張該法案對（石油與天然氣）讓步太多的聲音更有底氣」。TD Cowen said Democrats' resounding election victory "likely emboldens voices arguing the bill gives ⁠too many concessions to (oil and gas)."

奧勒岡州民主黨籍參議員羅恩・懷登（Ron Wyden）週五表示，民主黨應運用選後籌碼，談判出不同做法。Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, said on Friday that Democrats should use their leverage after the election to negotiate a different approach.

懷登在聲明中表示：「民主黨有一個獨特機會，可以談出一項協議，為所有新能源計畫減少繁文縟節，以降低美國人的能源成本，同時不帶來重大的政治干預風險。」"Democrats have a unique opportunity to negotiate a deal that will reduce red tape for all new energy projects to bring down Americans' energy costs without substantial risk of political interference," Wyden said in a statement.

一些分析估計，這項法案也可能有助於減少與資料中心營運相關的排放。Some analyses estimate the bill could also help to reduce emissions associated with data center operations.

Rhodium Group發現，BAAJA的輸電與許可改革，可能讓更多資料中心需求由日益潔淨的電網供應，而非專用燃氣電廠，進而使相關溫室氣體排放減少31%至90%，幅度取決於電力來源組合。Rhodium Group found that BAAJA's transmission and permitting reforms could allow more data center demand to be served through an increasingly clean electric grid rather than dedicated gas-fired power plants, reducing associated greenhouse-gas emissions by 31% to 90%, depending on the mix of power sources.

投資銀行ING表示，川普任內，全面性的聯邦立法來約束資料中心建設仍不太可能，因為他和他的政府將資料中心視為美國與中國競爭的必要條件。Investment bank ING said sweeping federal legislation to rein in data center construction remains unlikely while Trump is in office, since he and his administration view them as essential for the US to compete with China.

ING也提到，各州與華府之間應如何分配權限存在分歧。ING also cited disagreements over how much authority should reside with states versus Washington.

跨黨派智庫戰略暨國際研究中心（Center for Strategic and International Studies）能源安全與氣候計畫負責人約瑟夫・馬伊庫特（Joseph Majkut）表示，這項措施對可負擔性和治理資料中心成長都很重要。他說：「有關資料中心成本的條文可能會拯救這項法案。」Joseph Majkut, who leads the energy security and climate program at the bipartisan think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the measure is important for affordability and governing data center growth. "The provisions on data center costs might save the bill," he said.

（瓦萊麗・沃爾科維奇與尼古拉・格魯姆採訪；提摩西・加德納與艾德蒙・克拉曼編輯）(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom; Editing by Timothy Gardner and Edmund Klamann)