Critical regulation: the EU Energy Efficiency Directive recast

The European Commission’s proposed recast of its Energy Efficiency Directive promises to transform how data center operators manage and report on energy performance and sustainability in Europe. The impact of the legislation is likely to spread beyond the EU.

KEY POINTS

• The proposed recast of the Energy Efficiency Directive sets out new and strict reporting requirements for data centers operating in the EU. The proposal is likely to become law by the end of 2022.
• All organizations in the European Union (EU) using above 3.6 terajoules (Tj) / year (1,000 megawatt-hours, MWh) must undertake four-year energy audits, and those above 18 Tj / year (5,000 MWh) will be required to implement a certified energy management system.
• Operators of any data center with over 100 kilowatts of IT power demand will be required to report energy performance details annually, including energy consumption, capacity and utilization, renewable energy use, storage and network traffic, water use and other critical data.
• Users pay more than double for applications protected against regional failure, but carbon emissions nearly triple.
• When finalized, the recast of the law is likely to be shadowed or replicated (and have repercussions) outside the EU.