Legislation on data centers
Table of contents
Legislation in Europe
Due to the enormous growth of data centers, more and more legislation in the is being applied on the datacenter & IT industry. At the moment the European Commission are taking the lead in this, especially with the EU Taxonomy and the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED)
We need more legislation to become more energy efficient and sustainable
Legislation in the European Union in particular and countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and France in particular are introducing legislation that is ahead of that of other regions and countries.
In addition to legislation, there is also the Self Regulatory Initiative of the Climate Neutral Data Center Pact, which although not a regulation, is an advance on this and has made a positive contribution to the regulations.
More information can be found at the following website from the European Commission
By 15 May 2024 and every year thereafter, Member States shall require owners and operators of data centres in their territory with a power demand of the installed information technology (IT) of at least 500kW, to make the information set out in Annex VII publicly available, except for information subject to Union and national law protecting trade and business secrets and confidentiality.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to data centres used for, or providing their services exclusively with the final aim of, defence and civil protection.
The Commission shall establish a European database on data centres that includes information communicated by the obligated data centres in accordance with paragraph 1. The European database shall be publicly available on an aggregated level.
Member States shall encourage owners and operators of data centres in their territory with a power demand of the installed IT equal to or greater than 1 MW to take into account the best practices referred to in the most recent version of the European Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency.
By 15 May 2025, the Commission shall assess the available data on the energy efficiency of data centres submitted to it pursuant to paragraphs 1 and 3 and shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council, accompanied, where appropriate, by legislative proposals containing further measures to improve energy efficiency, including
establishing minimum performance standards and an assessment on the feasibility of transition towards a net-zero emission data centres sector, in close consultation with the relevant stakeholders. Such proposals may establish a timeframe within which existing data centres are to be required to meet minimum performance.
Legislation in the Netherlands
For several years, the Dutch government implemented regulations specifically for data centers. Especially the Amsterdam city council and the province of North Holland have meant a lot in this.
For many years now, the Netherlands has been a leader in energy efficiency in data centers, partly due to regulations.
The latest regulations on energy efficiency in the Netherlands can be found at the website of the RVO.
Overview of the current measures