Call for evidence for an initiative with an impact assessment - Data centres in the EU: minimum performance standards (Ares(2026)8908107)
European Commission, DG ENER · European Commission
The European Commission's call for evidence, published with the September 2026 data centre energy efficiency package, announces a proposal for an EU Regulation setting minimum performance standards for data centres.
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Overview
The document is European Commission DG ENER call for evidence Ares(2026)8908107, published alongside the data centre energy efficiency package of September 2026. Its purpose is to announce the rationale and scope of a proposed EU Regulation setting minimum performance standards (MPS) for data centres, and to gather views and evidence. It is published only as a Word document, so no PDF copy has been stored.
The call frames the problem under three heads: rising energy and water use, limited heat reuse and grid integration, and regulatory fragmentation. The legal basis is Article 194(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), and EU action is justified as a way to avoid divergent national approaches. The proposed approach has three steps. The first is the reporting scheme (Delegated Regulation 2024/1364); the second is the rating scheme and label (cited in the text as Delegated Regulation 2026/7000); the third is minimum performance standards. The aim is that all new or retrofitted data centres meet minimum levels for energy efficiency, water use, waste-heat reuse, grid services and other selected sustainability criteria.
On the timetable, the likely instrument is a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council, with an indicative timetable of Q2 2027 and DG ENER Unit B2 in the lead. The impact assessment is expected in Q4 2026, with technical consultations through 2026 and targeted consultations via the EED Expert Group. This document is not yet a regulation; it contains no thresholds, and the scope may change until the proposal is published. For designers it is an early signal of which indicators (PUE, WUE, waste-heat reuse readiness, grid flexibility) may become binding.
Key points
- Likely instrument: a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council; indicative timetable Q2 2027; lead DG ENER Unit B2.
- Aim: all new or retrofitted data centres meet minimum levels for energy efficiency, water use, waste-heat reuse, grid services and other selected sustainability criteria.
- MPS are the third step after the reporting scheme (Delegated Regulation 2024/1364) and the rating scheme and label (Delegated Regulation 2026/7000 in the text).
- Legal basis is Article 194(2) TFEU; EU action is justified to avoid divergent national approaches.
- The impact assessment is expected in Q4 2026, with technical consultations through 2026 and targeted consultations via the EED Expert Group.
- The document is published only as a Word file.
Using it in design
- Track this initiative as an upcoming rule pack; leave design headroom against likely MPS indicators (PUE, WUE, waste-heat reuse readiness, grid flexibility).
- Keep thresholds configurable until the proposal is published.
- Treat new and retrofitted facilities separately; the call covers both.
- Build in now the metering needed to collect reporting (2024/1364) and rating data.
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Who should read it
Engineers designing or operating data centres in the EU, compliance leads and investors.
Related standards
- Directive (EU) 2023/1791
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364
- C(2026) 3472
Publication details
- Authors
- European Commission
- Publisher
- European Commission, DG ENER
- Year
- 2026
- Document number
- Ares(2026)8908107
- Document language
- English
- Source type
- Government / public
- Access
- Free to read
- Licence
- EU reuse (2011/833/EU) — reuse permitted with acknowledgement of the source
Original licence note
Commission call for evidence; available only as DOCX in Cellar (two identical expressions, also b9745fbc-b5ac-11f1-81de-01aa75ed71a1), so no PDF was stored.
Citation
European Commission (2026). Call for evidence for an initiative with an impact assessment - Data centres in the EU: minimum performance standards (Ares(2026)8908107). European Commission, DG ENER. Ares(2026)8908107. http://publications.europa.eu/resource/cellar/ddfe0a5b-b5a9-11f1-81de-01aa75ed71a1.0023.01/DOC_1
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Related sources
All sources on this topic
European Commission, DG ENER (AIT, Borderstep Institute, EY) 2025
Assessment of next steps to promote the energy performance and sustainability of data centres in EU, including the establishment of an EU-wide rating scheme - Second technical report
Align the PUE target of new designs with the proposed MPS: design PUE below 1.3 and operational PUE below 1.4 in the first three years; for existing sites plan the path to below 1.5 by 2030.
- MPS feasibility was tested across 27 data centre archetypes with selected best available techniques (BAT).
European Commission, DG ENER (Viegand Maagoe and COWI) 2023
Reporting requirements on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres for the Energy Efficiency Directive - Task B report: Labelling and minimum performance standards
Add local design limits (Noord-Holland design PUE of at most 1.16, German 27 degree inlet temperature) as configurable warnings rather than hard rules, since some are drafts or local.
- The example roll-out is metrics in year 1, voluntary pass-or-fail in year 3, rating in year 5 and mandatory requirements in year 6.
European Commission JRC 2019
Development of European Green Public Procurement Criteria for Data Centres - Preliminary report (JRC118550, EUR 29945 EN)
Seed the embodied-versus-operational carbon module with the roughly one third procured assets and two thirds use-stage split as a default sanity check for LCA outputs.
- IT energy share is assumed at 52% in 2010, 57% in 2015 and 67% in 2030, with a PUE of 1.5 for 2030.
Open Compute Project Foundation 2025
Embodied Carbon Disclosure Base Specification v1 (OCP/iCA Carbon Disclosure Workstream), effective July 2025
Give catalogue items (UPS, generators, switchgear, cable, CDUs, racks, concrete) an embodied-carbon block: A1-A3 kg CO2e, functional unit, method (EPD/LCA/TM65/EEIO), verification status and emission factor source, matching this disclosure template.
- The value is normalised to a functional unit; examples are 5.1 kg CO2e per metre of cable and 700 kg CO2e per 500 kW UPS.
European Parliament and Council of the European Union 2023
Directive (EU) 2023/1791 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on energy efficiency and amending Regulation (EU) 2023/955 (recast) - Energy Efficiency Directive
If the site's installed IT power is 500 kW or more, provide in the design for the annual Annex VII reporting and the monitoring infrastructure (energy, power utilisation, temperature set points, waste heat, water, renewables); measurement is based on the EN 50600-4 family.
- Art. 12(2): data centres serving exclusively defence and civil protection are excluded.
European Commission 2026
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the energy efficiency of data centres in the EU - COM(2026) 500 final
Set the PUE target for new designs against the bands in the report (below 1.2 excellent, above 1.5 needs improvement) and possible future minimum-standard thresholds, noting that the 500-1000 kW class averaged 1.64.
- EU data centres consumed 68 TWh of electricity in 2024, expected to reach 114 TWh by 2030 (3.2% of EU electricity).