EU Says Half of Data Centers Exceeded Efficiency Benchmarks, Moves to Set Minimum Standards

According to AI TIMES, the EU Commission said in its first comprehensive assessment of 770 data center reporting submissions on September 21 that about half exceeded at least one of the recommended benchmarks for energy or water efficiency. As a result, the Commission is pushing ahead with the establishment of minimum performance standards alongside a common rating system. The assessment carries significance because it examined the sustainability of data centers all at once by looking at power and water efficiency, waste heat reuse, and renewable energy use. It also said that, as AI expansion and growth in digital services are likely to drive power demand even higher, the trend toward setting a comparable common yardstick rather than relying on voluntary improvements alone has become clearer. It also noted that reporting gaps and data reliability issues remain, and that the effectiveness of any future system will depend on how finely the reporting framework is refined. In the end, it interpreted the move as strongly reflecting the EU's industrial policy, which seeks to achieve both expanded technological sovereignty and management of environmental burdens.