Journal of Science Policy & Governance
Volume 28, Issue 01 | July 6, 2026

Policy Analysis
Is Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) Still Fit for Purpose?
​An Integrative Review of Data Center Metrics for Assessing the Environmental Impact of Modern AI Infrastructure

Waseq Billah (1), Jasmine Suarez (2), Erika Wolters (1)
  1. Oregon State University, School of Public Policy, Corvallis, Oregon
  2. Oregon State University, College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon
​Corresponding author: [email protected]​
Keywords: data centers, metrics, environmental impact, artificial intelligence, power usage effectiveness, integrative review
https://doi.org/10.38126/JSPG280101 ​

Executive Summary

Current U.S. policy directives indicate a "full steam ahead" approach to maintaining global dominance in Artificial Intelligence (AI). This strategic posture accelerates both technological innovation and the rapid expansion of data centers across the country. However, the proliferation of AI is driving a fundamental shift in data center design, introducing extreme power densities and specialized computing hardware. These advancements directly challenge traditional efficiency benchmarks, placing the long-standing industry standard—Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)—under growing scrutiny regarding its relevance in the AI era. This paper presents an integrative review of current literature to critically assess PUE’s suitability for modern AI infrastructure and to synthesize emerging alternative metrics. This paper presents a review of current literature to critically assess the suitability of PUE for modern AI infrastructure and to identify and synthesize emerging alternative efficiency metrics. The review identifies a suite of complementary metrics—including those for water usage (WUE), carbon usage (CUE), and IT equipment utilization—that could offer a more holistic evaluation of data centers’ impact on the environment. The goal of this review is to ensure that U.S. leadership in AI does not come at the cost of ecological overshoot or expense of public good but instead models sustainable, practical, and equitable innovation that can endure across changing dynamics under different political administrations.​

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Waseq Billah is a PhD Candidate at the School of Public Policy, Oregon State University. He holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences (Hons) and a Master of Social Sciences from the University of Dhaka, majoring in Public Administration. For his Doctoral research, he is focusing on the intersection of technology and society – particularly on how the AI revolution should be regulated to minimize risk and maximize reward. In addition, he is assisting PIs on a NSF grant that explores the impact of AI on future generations of engineers and policymakers. He is also collaborating with the OSU Share Lab on research about robot related policies.

Jasmine A. Suarez is a multi-award-winning technologist and interdisciplinary strategist working at the intersection of science, technology, and public policy. Her work explores how emerging technologies and critical infrastructure systems shape societal resilience, environmental security, and long-term public well-being. Drawing on experience across government, research, and policy ecosystems, she focuses on strengthening the governance, accountability, and sustainability of the systems that underpin modern society.

Erika Allen Wolters is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the School of Public Policy, where she also serves as Associate Director for the Water Resource Policy and Management and Environmental Science graduate programs. As an interdisciplinary scholar, her research focuses on environmental politics and the human-ecological interface, specifically how national and sub-national governments address adaptation to large-scale environmental concerns, including water scarcity, wildfires, and the food-water-energy nexus.

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