In a letter sent to the European Commission on 12 May, French MEP Christophe Grudler (Renew Europe) called for nuclear energy and hydropower to be included in the mandatory sustainability label for European data centres.
His request comes at a time when the delegated regulation on the energy efficiency of data centres is currently being drafted by the European Commission and will be adopted in the second quarter of 2026. According to him, this renewable energy factor (REF), “as currently drafted, [...] will misrepresent the environmental performance of European data centres”.
Christophe Grudler has asserted to Agence Europe that “his request is supported well beyond Renew Europe” — notably having the support of members of the ‘nuclear’ group that he chairs. He says he is “in favour of a mandatory sustainability label, provided that it is genuinely technologically neutral and is based on scientific criteria and not ideological choices”.
In his opinion, “it makes no sense to oppose renewables, hydropower, and nuclear energy in the current context.” He is thus calling on the European Commission to amend the REF calculation methodology before it is adopted. (Original version in French by Nadège Delépine)