What Sweden’s New Data Centre Rules Tell Us About the Future of Infrastructure

By Tamina Thamsborg, Nordnest

Starting July 1, 2025, large data centres in Sweden must begin tracking and reporting how much energy they use and how efficiently they use it. This is part of new rules that follow the European Union’s updated Energy Efficiency Directive (EED).

It’s a big shift – not just for compliance, but for how energy is viewed across the industry. Data centres will now need to show, in clear numbers, how they manage power. And that changes how they are built, run, and valued.

What Are the New Rules?

The new rules apply to any data centre in Sweden with an IT power load of 500 kilowatts or more. Starting in 2026, these facilities must report their energy use for the full year of 2025.

Operators will have to provide:

• Their total energy consumption
• The source of their electricity (whether it’s renewable or fossil-based)
• Their Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), which measures energy efficiency
• How their cooling and backup systems perform

All of this data must be sent to a central EU database by May 15, 2026.

Why This Matters

These rules are about more than regulation. They reflect a growing shift in how energy and digital infrastructure are connected.

Data centres use a lot of electricity. And with more demand from artificial intelligence and cloud computing, that number is only going up. Governments, investors, and customers all want to know how that power is being used, and how much of it is clean.

Operators that already track and manage energy performance will find this process straightforward. But for those who haven’t, this is a wake-up call.

Turning Compliance Into Opportunity

At Nordnest, we believe that reporting is just one part of a bigger story. Energy has always been core to infrastructure, but now it’s visible and measurable.

When operators treat energy as a core part of their planning – not just a utility—they benefit in several ways:

• They can show real progress on sustainability goals
• They build trust with investors and customers
• They can move faster by relying less on overstretched grid infrastructure
• They reduce risk by having more control over power availability and costs

These are competitive advantages, not just reporting checkboxes.

How to Stay Ahead

The best way to prepare is by designing energy into the system from the beginning.

That might mean using on-site renewables, pairing them with storage technologies like batteries or hydrogen, or building modular systems that can grow with demand. The details will vary by location, but the principle is the same: plan for control, efficiency, and resilience.

Operators who already think this way won’t just meet the new rules—they’ll be ahead of them.

What Comes Next

Sweden’s new requirements are part of a larger trend. Other countries are preparing similar rules. Energy use and carbon performance will soon be as important to digital infrastructure as uptime and latency.

This isn’t just about following rules. It’s about building smarter infrastructure that’s ready for the future.

At Nordnest, we’re helping customers do just that – with systems designed for performance, transparency, and long-term value. If you’re thinking about how to adapt, we’d be happy to talk.