GoKawiilMost European data centers withhold energy and water usage figures, study finds
A year-long investigation by Lighthouse Report, Trouw and other European media found that most data centers in Europe do not disclose their electricity and water consumption, despite an EU directive requiring larger facilities to report such data. In the Netherlands, fewer than a quarter of the 186 commercial data centers with capacity of 500 kW or more have published usage figures, and the national agency tasked with collecting this data has records for only 104 of them.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The findings suggest that EU rules meant to ensure transparency around data centers' environmental footprint are being widely ignored, with little apparent enforcement three years after the directive took effect. As AI and cloud computing drive data centers' electricity use toward nearly 5 percent of Dutch national consumption, the lack of reliable public data could make it harder for regulators and the public to assess and manage the sector's growing strain on power grids and water supplies.
- Fewer than 25% of large Dutch data centers publicly report electricity and water usage.
- The EU's Energy Efficiency Directive requires such disclosures but compliance appears minimal after three years.
- Dutch data centers consumed 5.1 billion kWh in 2024, nearly 4.6% of national electricity use and almost double the level from five years earlier.
Source: nltimes.nl, 2026-09-30
Published there as: “Most data centers refusing to say how much water, electricity they use”
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