On September 21, 2023, the Bundestag passed the new Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) in a revised version by the leading committee for climate protection and energy. While the government views the planned changes within the framework of the EnEfG as an opportunity for the IT industry, many affected companies are facing significant challenges. As of 2020, data centers accounted for approximately 3% of Germany's total electricity consumption. Due to the ongoing digitalization and increasing interest in sustainable technologies, this trend continues to rise significantly. The storage and processing of the associated data volumes and applications are indispensable today. Therefore, the draft law particularly focuses on the energy consumption and waste heat of data centers to support the government's climate goals.

• Expansion of energy management and auditing requirements for companies, including the disclosure of energy consumption data, the use of waste heat, and cost-effectiveness assessments
• Implementation of energy efficiency measures identified as cost-effective within 2 years of the cost-effectiveness analysis
• Requirements for carbon-neutral power supply of data centers

These changes are relevant to all businesses with an annual total energy consumption of more than 2.5 GWh. This includes, for example, hospitals and industrial operations that operate in a 24/7 mode. Furthermore, companies with an annual total energy consumption exceeding 10 GWh are obligated to implement an energy and environmental management system in accordance with ISO 50001 or EMAS/Eco Management and Audit Scheme. Waste heat generated within the company's operational processes must be reduced to the technically unavoidable level and fully used internally by 2028. Additionally, data centers are subject to specific regulations concerning their energy supply. Starting from 2025, a mandatory requirement will be the use of exclusively renewable energy sources for power supply. Moreover, regular reporting on heat quantity, temperature levels, and the cost of waste heat generated is part of the new legislation.

The new obligations demand a high level of transparency and overview of the internal system landscape, which requires detailed IT monitoring. However, the challenge lies in the increasing complexity of IT infrastructures. What systems are in place, how do they interact, and where might there be energy wastage that needs to be addressed? In the context of the energy audit, analyzing the power consumption of the IT infrastructure is crucial. This allows for a precise determination of how much power each component consumes and where more resource-efficient practices can be implemented. Often, so-called "zombie VMs," instances of virtual servers that consume electricity within a virtualized environment without real utility, can be identified. Identifying and disabling such power consumers is just one of the many ways to positively impact a company's energy efficiency. Specialized monitoring software solutions, such as BVQ°, provide data to support the newly mandated energy audits. Detailed analyses offer valuable information and help uncover optimizable resources. Some providers can create individual reports tailored to the requirements of the EnEfG.

EnEfG REQUIREMENT

Attachment 4 to § 13 Paragraph 2 "Information Obligation for Data Center Operators and IT Operators; Regulatory Authorization":

Among others, "1. Information on information technology for publication: [...]

c) annual power consumption of information technology

d) change in installed IT performance and power consumption compared to the previous year,

e) annual average utilization of at least 90 percent of installed Central Processing Units - CPU - in percent [...]."

For areas such as VMware, PowerVM, Brocade SAN Directors, and IBMFlash Storage, BVQ° enables the collection of various energy consumption metrics. Moreover, it highlights optimization potential, which can lead to more energy-efficient system operation. Many potential savings can be substantiated with metrics. The detailed analyses of energy consumption and optimization potential can be summarized in an individual report within BVQ° and presented in accordance with legal requirements. BVQ° dashboards visualize the current energy consumption trends in the desired system area and provide recommendations for more energy-efficient hypervisor system operation.

A well-planned approach to monitoring, data analysis, and reporting provides a significant advantage in complying with the new EnEfG guidelines. It helps reduce the effort required for energy audits and similar processes while enhancing transparency regarding the state and performance of internal IT systems. This improved overview facilitates investment planning, such as in energy-efficient hardware. Of particular interest to operators is the substantial energy and cost savings achieved. Comprehensive monitoring can be invaluable in many ways and, depending on the provider, can detect critical issues in the IT infrastructure early before they become serious problems. This is of great importance for operators of IT systems and data centers, not only in the context of the EnEfG but also to avoid expensive and labor-intensive system failures. For more information on monitoring with BVQ°, please visit here.

Drucksache 20/6872 Gesetzentwurf der Bundesregierung Entwurf eines Gesetzes zur Steigerung der Energieeffizienz und zur Änderung des Energiedienstleistungsgesetzes (bundestag.de)

Energieeffizienzgesetz passiert auch den Bundesrat - Südwestfälische Industrie- und Handelskammer zu Hagen (ihk.de)

Energiemanagementsysteme: ISO 50001 | Umweltbundesamt

17052023_policy_paper_enefg_chancen_fuer_die_rechenzentrums_und_it-branche.pdf