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White paperCitation2025

WP#93 Data Center Resource Effectiveness (DCRE) v1 Metric

The Green Grid · The Green Grid DCRE Standing Work Group

DCRE combines energy efficiency with water use, local water stress and climate zone, aiming to close the gap where PUE alone falls short in the AI era.

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Overview

This 2025 white paper (no. 93) proposes a composite metric on the grounds that a single PUE figure is insufficient as AI workloads grow. DCRE (Data Center Resource Effectiveness) weighs four inputs together: energy efficiency, water usage, local water-stress level and climate zone. A site in a water-scarce region and one in a water-rich region can therefore score differently despite identical PUE.

The second contribution is Water Usage Impact (WUI), a proxy for the environmental effect of consumed water that weights it by the stress of the basin where it is drawn; it is a sub-component of DCRE. The same work group is also developing companion metrics, IT Work Capacity (ITWC) and Energy Usage Impact, so the intent is to read energy together with work output and resource impact rather than on its own.

The limits are clear. The full text requires sign-in and the record gives no weights or formula detail for DCRE, so no numeric calculation can be derived from this page. The metric is at v1, with ISO/IEC 30134-9 (water) named as the related standard. The formula should not be put into calculation modules until an engineer has verified it. Because the record only names the inputs and not their weighting, two sites cannot be ranked on a numeric DCRE from this page.

Key points

  1. DCRE combines four factors: energy efficiency, water usage, water-stress level and climate zone.
  2. WUI is a sub-component of DCRE: water use weighted by local water stress.
  3. Rationale: PUE alone is insufficient during AI-driven growth.
  4. The same work group is also developing ITWC and Energy Usage Impact.
  5. Published 2025 as v1; related standard ISO/IEC 30134-9.

Using it in design

  • Add a water-stress index from a public water-risk atlas to the site catalogue and use it to weight WUE.
  • Do not compute DCRE until an engineer verifies the formula; show only the inputs (WUE, stress index, climate zone).
  • At high-stress sites where evaporative cooling is selected, present the PUE advantage together with its water cost.

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Who should read it

Site-selection planners and sustainability teams who must report water risk.

Related standards

  • ISO/IEC 30134-9

Publication details

Authors
The Green Grid DCRE Standing Work Group
Publisher
The Green Grid
Year
2025
Document number
WP 93
Document language
English
Source type
Industry body
Access
Citation only
Licence
Copyright retained; citation only — the publisher’s terms apply to the original document

Citation

The Green Grid DCRE Standing Work Group (2025). WP#93 Data Center Resource Effectiveness (DCRE) v1 Metric. The Green Grid. WP 93. https://www.thegreengrid.org/resources/library-and-tools/wp93-data-center-resource-effectiveness-dcre-metric

Performance metricsWaterEnergySustainability

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