December 2025
The Energy Utilization Manuals Review System Expanded to Hyperscale and Colocation Data Centers with Energy Consumption of 5MW or Above (Taiwan)
To strengthen the stability of the national energy supply and enhance energy efficiency, Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Energy Management Act (the “Act”) provides that energy users undertaking large-scale investment and production plans shall, when establishing or expanding energy consumption facilities, adopt a prior management mechanism and prepare an Energy Utilization Manual, which must be submitted to and approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (“MOEA”). This requirement is intended to ensure that major energy investment projects adopt high-efficiency processes and Best Available Techniques (“BAT”), thereby improving overall energy management efficiency.
Pursuant to the authorization under Article 15-1 and Paragraph 4 of Article 16 of the Act, the MOEA has promulgated the Regulations Governing the Assessment of Energy Development and Utilization (the “Regulations”), the Scope of Applied Energy Users for large-scale investment and production plans, and the Forms of Energy Utilization Manual and Required Particulars.
In response to the recent rapid increase in electricity demand driven by the artificial intelligence and data communications industries, and taking into account the energy consumption characteristics and growth trends of data centers, the MOEA has amended the Scope of Applied Energy Users and the Regulations. As a result, hyperscale and colocation data centers with energy consumption of 5MW or above have been brought within the scope of the prior review mechanism for Energy Utilization Manuals. Such data centers are also required to introduce BAT at the stage of establishment or expansion, in order to strengthen energy-saving design and enhance energy efficiency.
The key amendments are as follows:
1. Revision to the Scope of Applied Energy Users for Large-Scale Investment and Production Plans
The category of energy consumption users has been revised to cover “entities providing data processing services, colocation services, and internet hosting services, where, for an investment and production plan at the same plant site over the entire planning period, the combined total of the contracted capacity of electricity consumption and the installed capacity of self-usage power generation equipment, with an installed capacity of 2MW or more, reaches 5MW or more.”
2. Addition of BAT Requirements for Data Centers
Article 9 of the Regulations has been amended, and Appendix 7 has been newly added, to require energy users engaged in data processing services, colocation services, and internet hosting services to comply with BAT requirements. These requirements cover the selection of information equipment, configuration of information software services, data management, cooling systems, power systems, energy monitoring and management, and the overall energy efficiency of data centers.
Among these, with reference to regulatory standards adopted in Japan, Singapore, Germany, and other jurisdictions, the MOEA has adopted Power Usage Effectiveness (“PUE”) as the efficiency indicator and stipulated that the annual average overall PUE of data centers shall meet the following standards:
(1) Hyperscale Data Centers: PUE ≤ 1.3
(2) Colocation Data Centers: PUE ≤ 1.4
Pursuant to Article 25 of the Act, where an energy user violates Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Act by establishing or expanding energy consumption facilities without obtaining prior approval, the MOEA may order the violator to stop energy imports or may order the energy supply enterprise to cease energy supply. In addition, pursuant to Article 24 of the Act, where an energy user exceeds the approved energy consumption volume or fails to meet the applicable energy category or efficiency requirements, the MOEA shall notify the violator to make corrections within a specified period. Failure to remedy within the prescribed period may result in a fine ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, together with a further order to make corrections. Continued non-compliance may give rise to successively doubled fines for each subsequent violation.
In light of the foregoing, we recommend that relevant industry participants establish internal compliance mechanisms as early as possible to avoid potential violations and penalties.
Pursuant to the authorization under Article 15-1 and Paragraph 4 of Article 16 of the Act, the MOEA has promulgated the Regulations Governing the Assessment of Energy Development and Utilization (the “Regulations”), the Scope of Applied Energy Users for large-scale investment and production plans, and the Forms of Energy Utilization Manual and Required Particulars.
In response to the recent rapid increase in electricity demand driven by the artificial intelligence and data communications industries, and taking into account the energy consumption characteristics and growth trends of data centers, the MOEA has amended the Scope of Applied Energy Users and the Regulations. As a result, hyperscale and colocation data centers with energy consumption of 5MW or above have been brought within the scope of the prior review mechanism for Energy Utilization Manuals. Such data centers are also required to introduce BAT at the stage of establishment or expansion, in order to strengthen energy-saving design and enhance energy efficiency.
The key amendments are as follows:
1. Revision to the Scope of Applied Energy Users for Large-Scale Investment and Production Plans
The category of energy consumption users has been revised to cover “entities providing data processing services, colocation services, and internet hosting services, where, for an investment and production plan at the same plant site over the entire planning period, the combined total of the contracted capacity of electricity consumption and the installed capacity of self-usage power generation equipment, with an installed capacity of 2MW or more, reaches 5MW or more.”
2. Addition of BAT Requirements for Data Centers
Article 9 of the Regulations has been amended, and Appendix 7 has been newly added, to require energy users engaged in data processing services, colocation services, and internet hosting services to comply with BAT requirements. These requirements cover the selection of information equipment, configuration of information software services, data management, cooling systems, power systems, energy monitoring and management, and the overall energy efficiency of data centers.
Among these, with reference to regulatory standards adopted in Japan, Singapore, Germany, and other jurisdictions, the MOEA has adopted Power Usage Effectiveness (“PUE”) as the efficiency indicator and stipulated that the annual average overall PUE of data centers shall meet the following standards:
(1) Hyperscale Data Centers: PUE ≤ 1.3
(2) Colocation Data Centers: PUE ≤ 1.4
Pursuant to Article 25 of the Act, where an energy user violates Paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the Act by establishing or expanding energy consumption facilities without obtaining prior approval, the MOEA may order the violator to stop energy imports or may order the energy supply enterprise to cease energy supply. In addition, pursuant to Article 24 of the Act, where an energy user exceeds the approved energy consumption volume or fails to meet the applicable energy category or efficiency requirements, the MOEA shall notify the violator to make corrections within a specified period. Failure to remedy within the prescribed period may result in a fine ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000, together with a further order to make corrections. Continued non-compliance may give rise to successively doubled fines for each subsequent violation.
In light of the foregoing, we recommend that relevant industry participants establish internal compliance mechanisms as early as possible to avoid potential violations and penalties.
