EU Data Centers to Report Energy and Water Use Under New Rules

The European Union is poised to take a significant step toward regulating energy and water use in data centers. Beginning in September, all organizations operating data centers within EU nations will be required to file detailed reports on their water and energy consumption. Additionally, these organizations must outline the measures they are taking to reduce their environmental footprint. 

Data centers have been specifically targeted because they account for an estimated 2% to 3% of the total energy consumption in the EU. The increasing demand for data processing power, driven largely by the rise of AI technologies, is a major factor behind this significant energy use.

Ermengarde Jabir, a senior economist at Moody’s, highlights the immense power requirements of data center hubs within the EU. 

For instance, data centers in Amsterdam demand approximately 950 megawatts of energy capacity, while those in Dublin require over 700 megawatts. Similarly, data centers in Paris and Frankfurt have comparable energy needs to Dublin. To put this in perspective, 1 megawatt of power is sufficient to power between 750 to 1,000 homes for an entire year. Notably, the world’s largest data center hub, located in northern Virginia, has a staggering capacity of 4,500 megawatts. 

The EU’s new reporting rules, along with any subsequent regulations aimed at reducing energy consumption, currently apply only to data centers within EU membe

[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.