Most data centers are still refusing to say how much water and electricity they use

Date:
Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:36:30 +0000

Description:
Many data centers won't disclose their energy and water consumption publicly, and the EU makes accessing this data difficult.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Only 44-47 of the Netherlands' 186 large data centers publicly reported energy and water usage The EU hides raw data behind efficiency labels, which make local judgments hard EU criticized of breaching Aarhus Convention A new Lighthouse Reports investigation has found most European data centers are still obscuring their actual environmental impacts from the public despite EU rules aiming to improve transparency around energy and water reporting.

Among the included metrics are water and energy consumption, renewable energy use, waste-heat use and cooling efficiency, however while they may be reporting to governments, Lighthouse Reports argues that obtaining this information as a member of the public is far harder. The report also criticizes the EU for exposing efficiency labels, much like your household appliance, rather than the actual raw data. Latest Videos From TechRadar
Watch full video here: European data center reporting isn't all that transparent Without access to the raw data, communities and policymakers can have a hard time judging the environmental impact of a proposed or
operational data center, because even the most efficient hyper scale campus will still consume huge amounts of electricity and water.

In a Netherlands example, of the 186 500kW+ data centers operating in the country by late 2025, only 44 offered public electricity consumption figures and 47 offered water consumption figures. You may like The EU will force data centers to disclose how much water and energy they are using Irelands data center electricity consumption rises 360% in ten years, consumers as much power as every home combined New London data centers approved and some are requesting 3 million liters of water per day and enough electricity to power thousands of homes

However, Lighthouse Reports claims that Netherlands reporting is actually among the most transparent, and after trying to make similar attempts across all 27 EU member states, numerous requests were denied because they didn't possess the relevant information or because they deemed it confidential.

"The Commission has bowed to confidentiality clauses demanded by the industry," Lighthouse Reports concludes. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
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The group has since one on to file a complaint under the Aarhus Convention, claiming the EU is breaching the Convention's guarantees to "rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to
justice in environmental matters."

TechRadar Pro has asked the European Commission for a response to the report and subsequent complaint, but we did not receive an immediate response.
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