Loophole in new EU labelling will let fossil-fuelled data-centres pass as ‘green’

A data centre that draws on coal or gas power through the night can still get a ‘green’ label under a new EU classification system published on Monday (21 September), as long as its operator buys enough green certificates over the year. Data centres currently account for around 2.5 percent of EU electricity use, but this is set to grow as Brussels wants to triple its capacity within seven years as part of its push into artificial intelligence. Apart from power, data centres also use a lot of water for cooling. To keep the water and power use manageable, the commission introduced a system that will grade data centres above 500 kilowatts of capacity for efficiency. “Tripling our data centre capacity cannot mean tripling the pressure on our grids, our water and our energy bills,” said commission executive vice president Teresa Ribera on Monday. The labels go from A to G for energy and water efficiency, starting from August 2027. Each label will also show a pie chart of the share of low-emission power (which includes nuclear) a centre uses. No hourly matching But the way data is gathered is still rough. The rules as they stand let data centre operators to count green certificates over a whole year, which means that solar during the summer can compensate for gas burnt during winter nights, while still getting a green label. To read this story, log in or subscribeEnjoy access to all articles and 25 years of archives, comment and gift articles. Become a subscriber for as low as €1,75 per week.Read without limitsAlready a subscriber? Login