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Most data centers refusing to say how much water, electricity they use

216 points · 199 comments · Thom2503

  1. pbasista · · focus · HN ↗
    From the article:

    > The European Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) obliges data centers with an installed capacity of at least 500 kilowatts (kW) to report data including their energy and water consumption. In practice, few do so, despite the directive being in effect for three years.

    I do not understand how that is even possible.

    If any law is supposed to have any practical impact on the society, it needs to be enforced. Otherwise it is a guideline at best, not a law.

    I think what would help is for these companies to each receive strict and hefty fines for non-disclosing the electricity and water consumption data they are obliged to disclose.

    I assume that after that they would report all the required data very quickly.

    1. flir · · focus · HN ↗
      It's probably because directives have to be read into law at the country level.

      (Directives are binding on states. They transpose them into national law, possibly adding additional clauses as it goes past (EU directives set a minimum standard, not a maximum) at which point they're binding on people.)

      Nobody ever said the EU was efficient. Look for a deadline for that transposition on the original directive.

      1. ba1afd89f34cb23 · · focus · HN ↗
        You make a very good point. However, in this case, the deadline is two years in the past. From Article 12:

        > 1. By 15 May 2024 and every year thereafter, Member States shall require owners and operators of data centres in their territory with a power demand of the installed information technology (IT) of at least 500kW, to make the information set out in Annex VII publicly available, except for information subject to Union and national law protecting trade and business secrets and confidentiality.

        > 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to data centres used for, or providing their services exclusively with the final aim of, defence and civil protection.

        <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eur-lex.europa.eu&#x2F;legal-content&#x2F;EN&#x2F;TXT&#x2F;?uri=OJ%3AJOL_2023_231_R_0001&amp;qid=1695186598766" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eur-lex.europa.eu&#x2F;legal-content&#x2F;EN&#x2F;TXT&#x2F;?uri=OJ%3AJOL...

        1. flir · · focus · HN ↗
          Cool, thanks for looking that up. This gets us closer to where the fault lies. Has the Netherlands implemented the directive yet?

          Chatbot says &quot;partially&quot;, and &quot;Article 12, concerning data centres, has already been implemented. The relevant Dutch decree was published in May 2024 and entered into force on 7 May 2024.&quot; and a link to <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wetgevingskalender.overheid.nl&#x2F;Regeling&#x2F;WGK026248" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;wetgevingskalender.overheid.nl&#x2F;Regeling&#x2F;WGK026248

          But I neither read Dutch, nor trust the chatbot to do so, so all I can do is report the link.

          1. jeroenhd · · focus · HN ↗
            I&#x27;m no lawyer but based on the legal text in your link I&#x27;d say the law went into effect two years ago at least.

            The Dutch newspaper participating in this article (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.trouw.nl&#x2F;duurzaamheid-economie&#x2F;nederland-weet-amper-hoeveel-stroom-en-water-zijn-datacentra-opslokken~bbd70381&#x2F;?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.lighthousereports.com%2F" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.trouw.nl&#x2F;duurzaamheid-economie&#x2F;nederland-weet-am...) states that a quarter of the statistics are public, but also that within Europe, that&#x27;s one of the more transparent numbers.

            It looks like nobody is really enforcing these laws anywhere.

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