Hilversum, The Netherlands, June 27th 2024 – The energy consumption of servers in data centers is going down. On June 27, during National Energy Day, representatives from the Dutch data center industry signed off on a measure that will save more energy than the output of 1 million solar panels. The Dutch environmental protection agencies are ready to hold them to it.
During the EZK Energy Event in Hilversum, the Dutch Datacenter Association (DDA), trade association NLdigital and Omgevingsdienst Nederland (OD NL, the umbrella organization for the Dutch environmental protection agencies) jointly signed for a new approach that will ensure compliance with the measure “Set automated energy management on servers.” The new working method “Energy management for servers in data centers” describes how data centers comply with the legal measure and how the environmental services will check their compliance.
To create a level playing field, the environmental protection agencies will use the National Enforcement Strategy for Environmental Law to ensure that even data centers that do not commit to the method are still held to this recognized energy conservation measure.
About the measure
Servers have the technical capability to automatically reduce energy consumption when activity is reduced. Not all servers in data centers have that option turned on by default, so servers continue to use electricity unnecessarily even at low activity levels.
Most of the electricity used within a data center -over 80%- is used for the benefit of IT equipment. Setting servers up for automated power management can save an average of 10% of the total energy used in data centers.
Due to the growing demand for new applications such as AI, the energy demand of data centers in Europe is expected to increase by 50% from 2022 to 2026, from 100 Twh to 150 Twh, according to the International Energy Agency. By 2022, data centers already accounted for about 4% of total electricity use in Europe.
This makes it all the more important that not only new, but also existing IT environments use energy efficiently and check and set server settings for optimal energy management, where this is not yet the case. The targeted energy reduction realized in the Netherlands with automated energy management on all servers is greater than the energy output of more than a million solar panels.
Working together to save energy
Ruben Vlaander, chairman of the board of Omgevingsdienst Nederland: “Data centers are large users of electricity. Seemingly small conservation measures therefore quickly have a major environmental impact. If all data centers within the Netherlands implement the legally required energy-saving measure, the potential energy savings would exceed the annual output of one million solar panels. It is good that we are working together with the industry. Thanks to this approach, data centers can contribute substantially to energy savings and we are providing a level playing field from the government for implementation.”
Stijn Grove, Managing Director Dutch Data Center Association: “As the Dutch data center sector, we take our responsibility when it comes to sustainability. In recent years there have already been major efforts, as a result of which data centers have already made many energy efficiency strokes. We are pleased with the joint approach, because it creates clarity between the regulator, the data centers and their users. And thus can further support sustainability within data centers.”
René Corbijn, Deputy Director NLdigital: “We support this working method because it creates clarity for all parties about the division of roles in energy savings on servers in data centers. By seeking cooperation in the complex digital chains, energy saving is tackled at the core. With this, the digital sector is taking another step forward in the energy efficiency improvement needed to enable the continuous digital developments.”
The English translation of the full text of the approach to comply with the measure “Set automated energy management on servers” will be available from odnzkg.nl/datacenterapproach.