Netherlands wants stricter EU rules on power consumption of data centers

The Netherlands wants all EU member states to introduce stricter rules to curb the increasing power use of large data centers of tech companies.

The Netherlands will join Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Denmark in proposing new energy rules for tech companies next week, Bloomberg reports. This will happen during a consultation between the energy ministers of the EU countries. Data centers are consuming more and more energy and already account for nearly 3 percent of the EU's total electricity use. 

Part of the proposal would be stricter reporting requirements for data centers, including on CO2 emissions, the use of renewable energy and the effectiveness of power, cooling and water use. It would also allow the European Commission to set "minimum performance criteria" for tech companies.

Long ago, the arrival of a huge data center of Facebook parent company Meta in Zeewolde was halted, in part because of concerns about the high electricity use of the complex, which would be the largest of its kind in Europe. In Luxembourg, similar criticism was voiced against a plan for a large Google data center.

Energy Transition

In more EU countries, there are such concerns about large data centers. Ireland's energy regulator recently warned that the power consumption of data centers in the country could lead to blackouts. The body predicts that data centers will already account for 23 percent of the country's total electricity demand by 2030.

With energy supplies under pressure from the war in Ukraine, opposition to the arrival of more data centers is growing. "If we don't do anything about data centers, we will lose part of the opportunity to get off the gas and help the energy transition," Claude Turmes, Luxembourg's energy minister, told Bloomberg.

The five countries hope that all 27 EU member states will sign up to the same energy rules for tech giants. A spokesman for the Ministry of Economy and Climate could not yet comment.

Zeewolde

The arrival of the Meta data center in Zeewolde has now become very uncertain. A majority in the city council is opposed and the government does not yet want to sell the land to the municipality. Meta also decided to suspend the plans itself.

In the meantime, the data center in Zeewolde has become very uncertain.

The cabinet also recently announced stricter rules for large data centers, which means they may only be allowed in a few areas in Groningen and North Holland. There would be enough room in the exception areas.

Source: RTL News