Data-centre rules
Data centre regulation in Germany
Our tracker lists 11 rules for building and running a data centre in Germany, national and EU, and 7 of them are in force.
Each comes with its status, who it applies to and the next date that matters. When a rule here changes, the change is logged below with its date.
Rules that apply in Germany
National rules first, then the EU rules every member state applies. Status as on the tracker.
| Rule | Level | Status | Applies to | Next date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EnEfG §11, PUE and renewable electricity | National | In force | Existing sites for the PUE deadlines, new and existing sites for renewable electricity. Data centres ≥300 kW non-redundant connection power; the PUE deadlines apply to sites running before 1 July 2026 | 1 July 2027, PUE ≤1.5 deadline |
| EnEfG §11(2), new data centres | National | In force | New sites. Sites starting operation from 1 July 2026: PUE ≤1.2 and a reused-energy share of at least 10%, rising to 15% and 20% for sites starting from 1 July 2027 and 1 July 2028 | Within two years of start-up, as an annual average |
| EnEfG §12, management systems | National | In force | New and existing sites. Same scope; validation from ≥1 MW, ≥300 kW for public bodies | Ongoing, validation duty since 1 Jan 2026 |
| EnEfG §13, annual reporting | National | In force | New and existing sites. Same scope | 31 March 2027 |
| Drucksache 21/8027, EnEfG amending bill | National | Bill, committee hearing held 5 October 2026 | New and existing sites. Data centres with installed IT power of 500 kW or more, the bill's new definition (the Act in force uses ≥300 kW non-redundant connection power); separate §11 limits for sites running before 1 July 2026 and sites starting from that date | Committee report and final vote, no date published |
| EED reporting, Article 12 and Delegated Regulation 2024/1364 | EU | In force | New and existing sites. Data centres ≥500 kW installed IT power | 15 May 2027, next annual report |
| EED waste heat, Article 26(6) | EU | In force | New and existing sites. Data centres >1 MW total rated energy input | Ongoing duty |
| EED energy management systems, Article 11 | EU | In force as a Directive duty on Member States; deadline not yet reached | Enterprises, including data-centre operators, with average annual energy consumption above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) over the previous three years, all energy carriers together | 11 October 2027, certified energy management system in place |
| EU rating scheme, delegated regulation adopted 21 Sep 2026 | EU | Adopted, in Parliament and Council scrutiny | New and existing sites. Same ≥500 kW reporting population | In force 20 days after Official Journal publication, if not objected to |
| EU minimum performance standards | EU | Consultation open | Not yet defined | 14 December 2026, consultation closes |
| Cloud and AI Development Act, COM(2026) 502 | EU | Proposal, with Parliament and Council | Cloud and AI infrastructure providers broadly | No fixed date |
Germany in detail
What the national rules say, with the legal texts.
Germany's Energieeffizienzgesetz (EnEfG) defines a data centre from 300 kW of non-redundant rated connection power, a lower bar than the EU's 500 kW reporting threshold. Section 11 sets the PUE limits: sites that started operating before 1 July 2026 must reach a PUE of 1.5 or lower from 1 July 2027, and 1.3 or lower from 1 July 2030. Sites that start operating from 1 July 2026 must reach a PUE of 1.2 or lower and a reused-energy share of at least 10%. The share is set by the start-up date: a planned 15% for sites starting from 1 July 2027 and a planned 20% for sites starting from 1 July 2028. Each site has up to two years after start-up to meet the requirements as an annual average.
The same section requires operators to cover their electricity consumption with renewable energy: 50% from 1 January 2024, rising to 100% from 1 January 2027 under the law in force. Drucksache 21/8027, the amending bill described below, would move the 100% date to 1 January 2030 and give new sites four years instead of two to reach their reuse share. It has not been adopted.
Section 12 requires every operator to set up an energy or environmental management system by 1 July 2025. Validation of that system became mandatory from 1 January 2026 for data centres of 1 MW or more, and for publicly owned or operated sites of 300 kW or more. IT operators running equipment inside someone else's data centre face the same validation duty above 500 kW, or 300 kW for public bodies.
Section 13 sets a standing annual reporting deadline of 31 March each year, covering the previous calendar year, feeding into the national Energieeffizienzregister für Rechenzentren under Section 14, which in turn passes the data to the European database.
A bill to relax the Section 11 PUE limits to 1.6 from 2027 and 1.4 from 2030, Drucksache 21/8027, had its first reading in the Bundestag on 24 September 2026 and was referred to the Committee for Economics and Energy, which held a public hearing on 5 October 2026, with nine experts heard over an hour and a half. No date for the committee report or the final vote had been published by then. It is a proposal, not law. The figures in force today remain 1.5 and 1.3. The bill is dated 16 September 2026. It also changes Section 8, the general energy management system duty for enterprises: it raises the annual energy threshold from 7.5 to 23.6 gigawatt hours, in line with Article 11 of the Directive, and sets 11 October 2027 for enterprises that passed the threshold by the end of 2025.
Dates to watch
The next dates for Germany and the EU, soonest first.
- 14 Dec 2026The EU Commission's minimum performance standards consultation and call for evidence closes
- 1 Jan 2027Germany's EnEfG 100% renewable-electricity requirement takes effect, unless Drucksache 21/8027 passes first and moves it to 1 January 2030
- 31 Mar 2027Germany's register report due every year
- 15 May 2027EU database due every year
- 1 Jul 2027Germany's EnEfG reused-energy share for new sites rises to 15% for data centres starting operation from this date
- 1 Jul 2027Germany's EnEfG PUE ≤1.5 deadline for sites that started operating before 1 July 2026, unless Drucksache 21/8027 passes first
- 11 Oct 2027EU deadline under Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive for a certified energy management system at enterprises above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) of annual energy consumption
- 1 Jul 2030Germany's EnEfG PUE ≤1.3 deadline for the same pre-mid-2026 sites, or 1.4 if the relaxing bill passes
Formal refusals and bans since 2025
Verified decisions only. Absence is not evidence of low planning risk.
Decisions on single sites
- 3 Feb 2026Groß-Gerau, near Frankfurt Town council voted not to negotiate the development contractsStanding
Decisions from 1 Jan 2025; statuses checked 11 Oct 2026.
What changed
Every change to these rules on the tracker, newest first.
- 18 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: EED energy management systems, Article 11 (In force as a Directive duty on Member States; deadline not yet reached).
- 14 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: EnEfG §11(2), new data centres (In force).
Get an alert for Germany
We write to this list when a rule here changes status or a date moves, usually within a week of the change appearing in the log above. Nothing else, and your address is never shared.
Questions
Which rules apply to a data centre in Germany?
Our tracker lists 11 rules for building and running a data centre in Germany, national and EU, and 7 of them are in force.
What is the next date for data centre rules in Germany?
The next date is 14 Dec 2026: the EU Commission's minimum performance standards consultation and call for evidence closes.
From the European data-centre regulation tracker, which cites the legal text for every rule. Data-centre market data for Germany. Grid connection for data centres in Germany.
Sources: Deutscher Bundestag, EUR-Lex (Official Journal of the EU), European Commission, Gesetze im Internet (German federal law).