Reporting requirements on the energy performance and sustainability of data centres for the Energy Efficiency Directive - Task C report: EU repository for the reporting obligation of data centres

Overview

Task C describes how the EU-wide repository will work and notes that it will use technical options from existing Commission IT platforms such as EU Login. The report covers five topics: the input data for reporting, the outputs calculated from it, the aggregated statistics made public, the users of the repository and their access levels, and the reporting cycle from granting access to publishing statistics. The document is dated 22 November 2023 and the cover page marks it as a Draft version.

Input fields fall into four groups, each defined by data type, unit, reporting frequency and a validation rule. These are building information (reporting entity, data centre name/ID, postal code, type), domain of control (physical building, mechanical and electrical plant, data floor, racks, IT equipment, operating system/virtualisation layer, software, business process), operation data (electrical and cooling redundancy level, modular capacity steps or separately provisioned halls, number of racks) and indicators. Data centre type can only take three values: enterprise, colocation or co-hosting.

Indicator inputs are annual: total and computer room floor area (m2), rated IT electrical load (kW), total energy, backup generator energy and fuel consumed (kWh), fuel type, grid functions, average battery capacity (kW) and battery time (hours), ICT equipment energy, total and potable water input, waste heat reused (kWh) and its average temperature, cooling degree days, renewable energy (split by GoO, PPA and on-site), server and storage capacity, and incoming/outgoing traffic. Validation rules include computer room area not exceeding building area, ICT energy not exceeding rated IT load times 8760 or total energy, waste heat temperature between 20 and 99 degrees, and rated IT load consistent with floor area at 1-10 kW/m2.

Four metrics are computed as outputs: PUE (total energy / ICT energy), WUE (annual water input / ICT energy), ERF (energy reused / total energy) and REF (renewable energy / total energy). Individual data and metrics are visible only to the Commission (all EU) and Member States (their own territory); the public sees only aggregated statistics. Statistics are presented by installed IT power size class - small 500-1000 kW, medium 1-2 MW, large 2-10 MW, very large above 10 MW - and by data centre type, as average PUE, WUE, ERF and REF.

The reporting cycle follows one of two methods: the operator reports directly to the EU e-platform, or, in Member States with a national scheme, reports to the competent authority, which uploads bulk data. In the direct method each data centre gets its own account, the competent authority opens and closes the reporting calendar, reopens the task if validation finds deviations, and the Commission then publishes summary statistics. The document defines fields and rules; it does not detail meter or measurement methods, which are handled in the other task reports and the regulation.

Key points

1. Every input field is defined by data type, unit, reporting frequency and a validation rule, intended to reduce user entry errors.
2. Data centre type takes only three values: enterprise, colocation, co-hosting.
3. Annual inputs include total and computer room area (m2), rated IT load (kW), total, ICT and fuel energy (kWh), battery capacity (kW) and time (hours), water, waste heat, cooling degree days and renewable energy.
4. Validation: computer room area cannot exceed building area; ICT energy cannot exceed rated IT load x 8760 or total energy; reused heat cannot exceed total energy; potable water cannot exceed total water input.
5. Average waste heat temperature must be within 20-99 degrees, and rated IT load is checked against floor area at 1-10 kW/m2.
6. Incoming and outgoing data traffic (PB) must be less than the corresponding bandwidth (Gbps) x 3.942.
7. Computed metrics are PUE, WUE (water input / ICT energy), ERF and REF; the GoO, PPA and on-site renewable items cannot exceed total renewable energy.
8. Individual data is visible only to the Commission (all EU) and Member States (own territory); only aggregated statistics are published.
9. Size classes by installed IT power: small 500-1000 kW, medium 1-2 MW, large 2-10 MW, very large above 10 MW.
10. Two reporting methods exist: the operator enters data directly on the e-platform via EU Login with one account per data centre, or reports to the Member State authority, which bulk-uploads.

Using it in design

• Plan an "EED report export" in the design and operations model that can pre-fill the EU database template: rated IT kW, floor areas, energy, water, heat reuse and renewable fields.
• Apply the repository's own validations in input forms: ICT kWh <= total kWh, ICT kWh <= rated IT kW x 8760, reused heat <= total energy, waste heat temperature 20-99 degrees.
• Divide rated IT load by computer room area and flag results outside 1-10 kW/m2 as a likely data entry error or area-definition question.
• In the metering plan define separate measurement points for total energy, ICT energy, backup generator energy and fuel, water input (potable separate) and renewable energy (GoO, PPA, on-site).
• Store battery capacity in kW and autonomy in hours as separate fields, since the repository asks for them separately.

Who should read it

Engineers and software teams designing a data model, metering plan or export function for EU data centre reporting.

Document contents

1. Introduction
2. Objectives
3. Structure and objectives of this document
4. Input data
5. Building information
6. Domain of control
7. Operation data
8. Indicators
9. Output data
10. Metrics (PUE, WUE, ERF, REF)
11. Summary statistics for publication
12. Member state / EU level
13. Examples of visualization
14. User management in the e-platform
15. Reporting cycle and workflow
16. Data centre operator reporting directly to the EU e-platform
17. Data centre operator reporting to Member State

Related standards

• Directive (EU) 2023/1791
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1364

Read the document

Publication details

Authors

Viegand Maagoe; COWI

Publisher

European Commission, DG ENER (Viegand Maagoe and COWI)

Year

2023

Document language

English

Source type

Government / public

Access

Open licence — downloadable

DOI

10.2833/61682

Licence

CC BY 4.0 — share with attribution

Licence evidence

op.europa.eu

Citation