The new Energy Efficiency Act presents the German economy with new challenges. The electronics industry and data centers in particular are expecting new cost blocks.
Ifo Chairman Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Clemens FuestWiththe 'Act to Increase Energy Efficiency in Germany' (EnEfG), the federal government wants to encourage authorities and companies to significantly reduce energy consumption, protect the environment and reduce Germany's dependence on energy imports. However, the new regulations often require investments in new technologies and systems - with corresponding costs. Ifo Chairman Prof. Clemens Fuest even warned in advance of a 'growth killer' for Germany.
Data center operators and suppliers under pressure
The EnEfG requires, for example - and this point was particularly controversial beforehand - climate-neutral data centers. Accordingly, existing facilities must gradually achieve a so-called 'energy consumption effectiveness' of a maximum of 1.3 from 2027 to 2030. New data centers that go into operation from mid-2026 must even achieve a value of 1.2. And from mid-2028, at least 20% of the energy fed into the grid must come from renewable sources.
'Power Usage Effectiveness' (PUE) refers to the ratio between the total energy fed into a data center and the energy consumption of the computers themselves. In other words, this figure shows how much the infrastructure of a data center consumes. The closer the target approaches 1.0, the less electricity and thermal energy cooling systems, energy distributors, fire alarms, access control and other environmental technology required for operation may use. The German digital association 'Bitkom' from Berlin had already warned against excessive demands on German data centers in the run-up to the law - which are struggling to maintain their market position in the face of high German energy prices and in view of the lead of the data centers of international hyperscalers. "All data centers, both service and production data centers in the industry, will generally not be able to meet the target," the association warned in a statement. This would also jeopardize the location outside of the digital economy. The traffic light plans, which require data centers to generally recycle their waste heat and feed it into central heating networks, for example, received particular criticism. Meeting this requirement would have been difficult for many data center locations due to local conditions. For this reason, the legislator ultimately relaxed this requirement slightly by making a few exceptions.
Bitkom has now published a guide to help operators plan and operate their data centers in compliance with the regulations. The association has made the document available to download free of charge online[*]. Among other things, it recommends modernization of power failure devices (UPS) and cooling systems, consistent LED lighting and, if necessary, the termination of customers with insufficient capacity utilization.
Particular focus on the electronics sector
Apart from data centers, the electronics industry in general is also particularly affected by the new regulations. This is because electronic devices are not only energy consumers, but also energy producers. Smartphones, computers, televisions and many other devices are ubiquitous and often consume considerable amounts of energy in standby mode. The Energy Efficiency Act stipulates stricter energy efficiency requirements for many electronic devices. Manufacturers must design their products so that they consume less electricity and have a longer service life. This leads to increased development of energy-efficient technologies and materials. The law lays down a number of obligations for large consumers in particular, specifically for companies with an average annual total final energy consumption of over 7.5 GWh (gigawatt hours). They must set up and provide evidence of special energy or environmental management systems. This is linked to energy audits as well as numerous recording and reporting obligations - for example on energy input and output, process temperatures and the like. The exact requirements can be found in the legal text on the Internet[**].
Reactions from companies
Reactions from the business community are mixed: according to a survey by the University of Stuttgart, three quarters of companies expect high implementation costs. On the other hand, almost 70% of companies also expect shorter payback periods for energy efficiency measures. The high energy costs in Germany in particular influence this assessment - as well as numerous investment decisions. This can also be seen in Saxony's semiconductor industry, for example, which has traditionally always consumed a particularly large amount of electricity and natural gas, but was already taking countermeasures before the EnEfG: Globalfoundries, for example, wants to make its power plants next to the Dresden chip factory hydrogen-compatible and is also installing a new solar plant to cover part of its own electricity consumption from its own sources. Infineon wants to completely dispense with the use of natural gas for the first time in its Dresden Fab 4, which is currently under construction, and is also making the entire complex energy-efficient. And some companies in the e-industry are also hoping for new sales opportunities as a result of the EnEfG - Siemens, for example, is currently promoting its energy monitoring systems for data centers and other companies that fall under the reporting obligations of the new law.
Sources
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (ISI), Bitkom, Federal Office of Justice (gesetze-im-internet.de), University of Stuttgart, If, Siemens
References
[*] Bitkom guide:www.bitkom.org/sites/main/files/2024-01/bitkom-leitfaden-energieeffizienzgesetz-fuer-rechenzentren.pdf (accessed: 29.7.2024).
[**] Legal text online: www.gesetze-im-internet.de/enefg/BJNR1350B0023.html (accessed: 29.7.2024).
