EU sets goal to triple data center capacity by 2035 with energy rules

In short: The European Union says it wants to roughly triple its data center capacity by 2035, while adding stricter rules to track and limit energy and environmental impact.

What happened

The European Commission has set an explicit goal to roughly triple the EU’s data center capacity by 2035. Data centers are the buildings full of computers that run cloud services and many AI tools (think of them like large warehouses for computing power).

To manage the extra electricity and water this expansion can require, the EU is using its Energy Efficiency Directive. Under this law, larger data centers, defined as sites with installed IT power of at least 500 kW, must report details like energy use, cooling, and water use into a new EU-wide database.

The Commission is also preparing a Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package expected in 2026. It is set to include a shared EU rating system that would let people compare data centers on energy and environmental performance, and it could lead to minimum standards later on. A draft proposal on the structure of this rating system was opened for public feedback from 26 March to 23 April 2026.

The broader plan also connects to chips and cloud services. The EU wants more local semiconductor capacity, meaning the computer chips used in servers, and it wants more European cloud capacity, which depends on having enough data centers.

Why it matters

More data centers can support more online services and AI, but they can also strain local power grids and water supplies. The EU’s approach is to grow capacity while making operators prove, using reported data and ratings, that new facilities are efficient and more sustainable.

Source: NYTimes