The number and size of data centres are expected to grow steadily due to the constant digitalization of more and more aspects of daily life. In Europe alone, data centres are projected to generate 3.2% of the total electricity demand in the EU by 2030. A considerable part of this demand comes from the need to cool data centres to compensate for the heat they generate. Data centre cooling must be done in a sustainable way to minimize its impact on the data centre’s overall energy draw and on the environment. Through state of the art sustainable cooling facilities using heat pumps, efficient data centre cooling can be provided and waste heat can be effectively recovered and upgraded for redistribution, via a district heating network for instance, to connected homes, industries, offices, and other types of end-uses.

In this context, EPEE welcomes the proposal by the European Commission to develop sustainability indicators and reporting requirements for data centres as part of the Energy Efficiency Directive, and suggests further improvements to the proposed legislation.