Sustainability
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Schneider models lower AI cooling water
Schneider Electric modelling of 100MW AI data centres finds an optimised liquid-cooled design could cut annual on-site cooling water use in Paris by 53% compared with the air-cooled configuration examined.
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Eurofiber wins Dutch AI Factory hosting
SURF has selected Eurofiber Cloud Infra to host the Netherlands’ first large-scale AI Factory in Groningen, using direct processor cooling, battery storage, and heat recovery designed to supply roughly 2,000 homes.
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French Senate sets out AI infrastructure recommendations
A French Senate report has put data centres at the centre of the country’s AI environmental debate, calling for faster grid connections to be paired with tougher environmental performance, greater transparency, and more efficient computing models.
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German register exposes utilisation and data gaps
Germany’s first official data centre register analysis finds many listed facilities already satisfy future efficiency requirements, but low utilisation, incomplete reporting, and questionable data quality complicate conclusions about the country’s available computing and grid capacity.
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EU consults on data centre performance standards
Brussels has opened a 12-week consultation on possible minimum performance standards for European data centres, beginning work that could turn the EU’s developing efficiency and sustainability reporting regime into enforceable operating requirements.
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EU proposes data centre sustainability ratings
The European Commission has proposed a common sustainability rating framework for larger data centres, adding energy, water, heat reuse, and grid flexibility to an EU transparency regime expected to produce its first facility labels in 2027.
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UK utilities can reject data centre cooling demand
Water companies may refuse data centre cooling connections where sufficient local resources are unavailable, the UK government has confirmed amid scrutiny of AI infrastructure water demand.
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Scotland mandates EIAs above 50MW
Scotland will require environmental impact assessments for every proposed data centre exceeding 50MW, introducing a fixed national threshold for large projects from 17 September.
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AWS expands Aragón water infrastructure programme
AWS says its Aragón projects now replenish more water than its regional data centres directly use, alongside a new €3.73 million irrigation modernisation scheme.
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Google’s Thurrock plan faces biodiversity challenge
Essex Wildlife Trust has renewed its objection to Google’s proposed Arena Essex data-centre campus, arguing that mitigation does not resolve the loss of nationally important habitats.