EU
European Union Regulations for Data Centers and AI Infrastructure
Energy Efficiency Directive (EED): Article 6 sets binding energy efficiency targets for large consumers, including data centers. Article 8 mandates energy audits for large enterprises, and Article 17 supports funding for energy-efficient upgrades.
Draft Delegated Act (DDA): A proposed supplement to the EED that mandates energy reporting for data centers with a power demand of at least 500kW by May 2024. It includes technical requirements like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and limits on energy consumption for servers and cooling systems (Annex III).
EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) Criteria: Encourages public authorities to prioritize energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable products. Data centers must use 100% renewable energy verified by EN 50600-4-3.
EU Code of Conduct on Data Centre Energy Efficiency: Provides best practices for monitoring and improving energy efficiency using metrics like PUE, Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCIE), and Cooling Efficiency.
Digital Decade Policy Programme (DDDP): Aligns digital infrastructure with climate goals, emphasizing renewable energy use and sustainable design for data centers to achieve climate neutrality by 2030.
EU AI Act: Focuses on regulating AI systems, including environmental impact assessments. Article 27 mandates fundamental rights impact assessments, including energy consumption and carbon footprint. High-risk AI systems must meet energy efficiency standards (Article 43).
EU Green Deal: Includes the promotion of renewable energy (Directive 2018/2001), climate neutrality targets (European Climate Law 2021/1119), and a digital strategy (COM/2020/66) that integrates energy efficiency in data sharing and infrastructure.
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD): Requires disclosure of energy consumption and environmental impacts, including GHG emissions and energy efficiency of AI algorithms (Sections 19-21).
Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD): Obligates companies to assess and mitigate environmental impacts, supporting energy efficiency and climate neutrality goals by 2050 (Sections 3 and 5).
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Imposes carbon pricing on imports to align with EU standards, preventing carbon leakage and ensuring fair competition (Sections 1-6).
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