The German Energy Efficiency Act and data centers
The German Energy Efficiency Act, abbreviated EnEfG, is the federal law of 2023 that sets energy savings targets for Germany and binding efficiency rules for data centers. It applies to data centers from 300 kilowatts of non-redundant connected load, and some duties reach operators of IT equipment in colocation from 50 kilowatts, according to the definitions in section 3 (in German).
Banks feel the law twice. A bank that runs its own data center is an operator with its own duties. A bank that rents racks or buys cloud services can ask its provider for the energy figures and needs them for its sustainability reporting.
PUE limits, waste heat and green power
Power usage effectiveness (PUE) is the ratio of a data center's total energy use to the energy used by its IT equipment. Under section 11 (in German), data centers that started operating before July 1, 2026 must reach a PUE of 1.5 or better from July 1, 2027 and 1.3 from July 1, 2030. Data centers that start operating later must reach 1.2 and reuse a share of their energy as heat: at least 10 percent for those opening from July 1, 2026, rising to 15 and 20 percent for later openings. The German average PUE was about 1.7, as A&O Shearman noted when the law passed.
Electricity must come from renewable sources: half of it since January 1, 2024 and all of it from January 1, 2027.
Management systems and reporting
Under section 12 (in German), operators had to set up an energy or environmental management system by July 1, 2025. From January 1, 2026 it must be validated or certified for data centers from 1 megawatt, or from 300 kilowatts for those owned by public bodies. Operators report their energy data to a federal register every year by March 31, under section 13 (in German).
For a bank's outsourcing file this means measurable figures. The provider can show PUE, the share of green electricity and reused heat per site, and the bank can compare them across providers and use them in its ESG reporting, see ESG risk management in banks.
The 2026 reform draft
In January 2026 a leaked draft bill showed that the governing coalition was considering changes. According to Pinsent Masons, an operator could meet the PUE limit by showing that the site was designed to reach it at 80 percent or more of its maximum computing load, and the waste heat duty would not apply where no reasonable district heating connection exists within five kilometers. Until a reform is passed, the current text applies.
Upcoming events on digital infrastructure
What is the German Energy Efficiency Act?
It is the federal law to increase energy efficiency in Germany, in force since November 2023. Besides national savings targets and duties for large energy users, it sets the first binding efficiency limits for data centers in Germany.
Which data centers fall under the act?
Data centers with a non-redundant connected load of 300 kilowatts or more. Companies that run their own IT in someone else's colocation center have reporting and information duties from 50 kilowatts.
The German Energy Efficiency Act and Finance Loop
Finance Loop connects the IT and sustainability teams of banks with data center operators in its Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty track, from Frankfurt, the largest data center market in Germany. Finance Loop offers operators a sponsored meetup to show banks their efficiency figures site by site.
Finance Loop is a professional network and has the goal of driving the adoption of emerging technologies in finance, such as AI, digital payments, cloud and blockchain solutions. Finance Loop helps its members build skills and personal networks in these fields: Investment & Digital Assets, Payments & Digital Money, Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty, and Risk & Compliance.