Energy Consumption in Data Centres and Broadband Communication Networks in the EU
Demand for digital services is rising rapidly, raising concerns about the energy use and environmental impacts of data centres and telecommunication networks. Despite the increasing public and policy interest in addressing these impacts, there is a lack of official statistics on the energy use of digital infrastructure. This study reviews and uses existing literature and public data sources to estimate the energy consumption of data centres and telecommunication networks in the European Union (EU-27) in 2022. Data centres in the EU used an estimated 45–65 TWh of electricity in 2022 (1.8–2.6% of total EU electricity use), while telecommunication networks used an estimated 25–30 TWh of electricity (1–1.2% of total EU electricity use). Network energy use as a share of national electricity use was both lower and more uniform than data centres. Policymakers and companies should work together to improve data collection, quality, and availability in order to better understand trends and make informed policy decisions to manage the energy and environmental impacts of digital infrastructure.
KAMIYA George;
BERTOLDI Paolo;
2024-02-16
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC135926
978-92-68-12554-0 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 31841 EN,
OP KJ-NA-31-841-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC135926,
10.2760/706491 (online),
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