Nordic data center industry associations send joint response to EED Delegated Act

 “Data centres in Europe – reporting scheme” is an act set out under the Energy Efficiency Directive, which was recently updated in 2023. The Delegated Act introduces new requirements for reporting on the energy performance and sustainability of data centers. 

“We are glad to have the opportunity to comment on the draft of the Delegated act alongside our Nordic partners. This truly solidifies the strong Nordic collaboration and signals a desire for a unified approach with regards to the regulatory frameworks set by the EU. Not only do we already have a lot of common interests across borders, working together gives us strength in numbers, and promotes ease of doing business across the Nordic countries. This is especially valuable when it comes to public policy” says Eero Lindqvist from the Finnish Data Center Association.

Joint response highlights

A few of the highlights from the joint response include:

• A show of support to the goals and objective in the Energy Efficiency Directive.
• An urge for data traffic not to be a part of the reporting scheme. Alternately, for operators who do not have access to this information (e.g. colocation operators and enterprise operators) to be able to be granted an exemption.
• An urge to lower the scope of the threshold from 500 kW to 100 kW. (Currently, Data Centers with a capacity of at least 500kW will be required to report their energy efficiency data to the EU Commission)

“In general, we support the goals and objectives in the EED. Our members have already taken several actions to ensure that their operations are energy efficient. With greater transparency, energy efficiency can become a competitive advantage for serious actors while driving further energy efficiency gains. Overall, the Nordic data center industry welcomes the initiative, and we believe that the Nordic countries are in a great position to fulfill the requirements as outlined by the EED” says Eero Lindqvist from the Finnish Data Center Association.

About the revised Energy Efficiency Directive (EU/2023/1791) and the Delegated Act

The European energy Efficiency Directive aims to reduce energy use in Europe by 11.7% by 20230 to help meet the EU Green deal of 55% reduction in carbon emissions. The EED was first adopted in 2012 and updated in 2018 and 2023. With the fundamental principle of “energy efficiency first,” the EED sets forth requirements and guidelines for not just reducing overall energy consumption, but also enhancing present and future energy security and affordability.

For Data Center owners and operators, the EED imposes new guidelines and KPIs for reporting on data center energy efficiency. The feedback period for the draft period ended on 15 January 2024.

About the Nordic data center industry associations

Finnish Data Center Association, Swedish Datacenter Industry Association, Datacenters by Iceland, Norwegian Datacenter Industry, and Datacenter Industrien (Denmark) represent national and international companies within the data center sector in the Nordics.

The associations enable development and innovation for the industry and work to create stability, sustainability and security for data center operators and the millions of customers who use digital services daily.

Quotes from the Nordic associations:

"The European Energy Directive will bring significant changes to the data center industry in Europe, but we believe that the Nordic data center markets are in a great shape to fulfill these requirements”, says Isabelle Kemlin Vice Chair of the Swedish Data Center Industry.

"The close collaboration across the Nordics is beneficial for the industry. Working together on key topics such as regulatory frameworks and branding will only strengthen the Nordic data center proposition”, says Henrik Hansen, CEO of the Danish Data Center Industry.

“Collaborating with the Nordic countries and sharing best practices across the board is beneficial for all of our members. Our collaboration is important in order to certain harmonize processes and align on a number of topics”, says Veijo Terho, Chairman of the Finnish Data Center Association.

 “It is important for Norway to be in lockstep with regulations and initiatives from the EU. This new collaboration with the Nordic data center associations is very valuable for us to be a part of”, says Bjørn Rønning, General Manager of the Norwegian Datacenter Industry.

“Iceland shares many similarities with the Nordic countries, and our new alliance allows us to become even better equipped to tackle challenges and seize the opportunities ahead. It is important that we align our views and work for the benefit of the entire regional industry”, says Björn Brynjúlfsson, Chairman of  Data Centers Iceland.

For more information please contact:

Veijo Terho - Finnish Data Center Association

veijo.terho@verneglobal.com

Isabelle Kemlin - Swedish Datacenter Industry Association

isabelle.kemlin@ri.se

Björn Brynjúlfsson - Data Centers Iceland

bjorn@bdc.is

Bjørn Rønning - Norwegian Datacenter Industry

bjorn@datasenterindustrien.no

Henrik Hansen – Datacenter Industrien (Denmark)

hh@datacenterindustrien.dk