The European Commission has proposed a common rating system for data centers to increase transparency around their energy and water use and their impact on Europe’s energy system which would apply to individual data centers with capacity above 500 KW. Ratings would cover resource use and contributions to the power grid, including waste-heat reuse, additional clean-energy generation and the ability to adjust electricity consumption to grid conditions.
According to a press release, the European Union (EU) plans to triple its data center capacity over the next five to seven years to strengthen its digital and technological independence. The expansion could increase pressure on electricity grids and water resources and raise carbon emissions, making efficiency and integration with the energy system a priority. Reusing about half of the waste heat produced by European data centers could provide an amount of heat equivalent to the demand of 4 million households.
Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, said, “Tripling our data center capacity cannot mean tripling the pressure on our grids, our water and our energy bills. That starts with transparency, rating large data centers depending on their impact on our energy system. Efficient, flexible, powered by additional clean energy and reusing waste heat, this is how data centers become an asset for EU’s energy transition.”
Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner for Energy and Housing, said, “To ensure that the digital transformation truly works for our society, we must address the growing energy demand of data centers. Understanding their energy and resource consumption is the essential first step towards integrating them sustainably into our energy system. Digital sovereignty must go hand in hand with energy responsibility.”
Readers will recall that the European Commission had published a draft regulation for an EU-wide rating scheme for data centers, and opened a four-week public consultation in April 2026. The Commission rating scheme is intended to improve transparency around the energy use of data centers and support public procurement and policymaking.
The proposal would create a common system for assessing data centers across the bloc using information collected under existing EU reporting rules and digital strategy. Ratings would be displayed through electronic labels issued automatically by the European database on data centers. The reporting framework was introduced in March 2024 through Regulation EU/2024/1364, which established a database and required operators to submit key performance indicators and the new draft sets out how that information would be used to rate facilities.
In July 2026, the European Data Centre Association (EUDCA) signed a Declaration of Intent with the European Commission, Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, and organisations from across the energy sector, to support the sustainable integration of data centers into Europe’s energy system. The declaration calls for closer cooperation between data centers, grid operators and public authorities, alongside reliable decarbonised electricity systems and a stable investment framework intended to support both sustainability and competitiveness.
As part of the proposed common rating system, the EU has opened a public consultation on minimum performance standards for data centers that closes on Dec. 14, 2026. The proposed rating regulation will undergo a two-month scrutiny period in the European Parliament and Council.
The first sustainability labels for individual data centers are expected in 2027, followed by a review of the system by the end of 2028. EU officials are also working with data-center operators, grid operators, energy providers and public authorities on a planned tripartite agreement later this year.