On July 7, the General Offices of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Financial Regulation, National Government Offices Administration, and the General Office of the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Organizing the Recommendation of 2025 National Green Data Centers."
The document states that in six sectors—industry, information communication, energy, internet, finance, and public institutions—a batch of green data centers with high energy efficiency, green and low-carbon operations, rational layout, advanced technology, and sound management shall be recommended in accordance with the "2025 National Green Data Center Evaluation Index System." Eligible data center types include intelligent computing centers, general-purpose data centers, and supercomputing centers.Z3/>Recommended data centers must meet the following criteria: Data centers shall, in principle, achieve Level 2 or higher under the "Green Data Center Evaluation" standard (GB/T 44989—2024). Power usage effectiveness (PUE) shall not exceed 1.3, meeting Level 2 or higher requirements in the "Energy Efficiency Limits and Energy Efficiency Grades for Data Centers" (GB40879—2021). Server energy efficiency shall meet or exceed the energy-saving levels specified in standards such as the "Energy Efficiency Limits and Energy Efficiency Grades for Tower and Rack-mounted Servers" (GB 43630—2023). The utilization rate of wind power, PV, and other renewable energies shall not be lower than the renewable energy electricity consumption responsibility weights of the provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) where the data centers are located. Active utilization of energy storage systems (ESS), hydrogen energy, and other technologies is encouraged, with strong capacity for power load regulation and matching.
Full text as follows:
Notice from the General Offices of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Financial Regulation, National Government Offices Administration, and the General Office of the National Energy Administration on Organizing the Recommendation of 2025 National Green Data Centers
GXTBLJH [2025] No. 279
To the competent industrial and information technology authorities, development and reform commissions, commerce authorities, and energy departments of all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, cities with independent planning status, and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; to the communications administrations of all provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government; and to China Telecom Corporation Limited, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd., and China Broadcasting Network Co., Ltd.:
To implement the "Notice of the State Council on Issuing the '2024-2025 Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction Action Plan'" (Guo Fa [2024] No. 12) and promote energy-saving carbon reduction transformations and green development of data centers, we are now organizing the recommendation of 2025 National Green Data Centers. Relevant matters are notified as follows:
I. Recommendation Requirements
In six sectors—industry, information communication, energy, internet, finance, and public institutions—a batch of green data centers with high energy efficiency, green and low-carbon operations, rational layout, advanced technology, and sound management shall be recommended in accordance with the "2025 National Green Data Center Evaluation Index System" (Attachment 1). Eligible data center types include intelligent computing centers, general-purpose data centers, and supercomputing centers. The recommended data centers should meet the following conditions:
(1) The data center owner should possess independent legal person status, with clear property rights, a well-defined and complete physical boundary, and independent power supply, distribution, and cooling systems. The data center should have been in continuous and stable operation for over one year as of the application date.
(2) It should comply with the relevant planning and layout requirements for green and high-quality development of new-type national infrastructure, achieving intensive, green, and intelligent construction. Data centers constructed after 2022 should, in principle, be located within the national integrated computing power network hubs and the pilot regions for computing-power and electricity coordination explicitly designated by the state.
(3) The data center should have a scale of no less than 3,000 standard racks (excluding data centers for public institutions and the financial sector), with a rack utilization rate of no less than 60% and computing power resource utilization at an advanced level within the industry.
(4) In principle, the data center should achieve Level 2 or above in the "Green Data Center Evaluation" (GB/T 44989—2024). The power usage effectiveness (PUE) should be no higher than 1.30, reaching Level 2 or above in the "Energy Efficiency Limits and Energy Efficiency Grades for Data Centers" (GB40879—2021). The energy efficiency of the servers used should reach or exceed the energy-saving levels specified in the "Energy Efficiency Limits and Energy Efficiency Grades for Tower and Rack Servers" (GB 43630—2023) and other relevant regulations. The utilization rate of renewable energy such as wind power and PV should be no lower than the responsibility weight for renewable energy electricity consumption in the province (region, municipality) where the data center is located. It should actively utilize technologies such as energy storage and hydrogen energy, and possess strong capabilities for regulating and matching electricity loads.
(5) Continuously carry out technological transformations and optimization upgrades in equipment layout, cooling architecture, power supply and distribution methods, intelligent system operation strategies, as well as energy-saving, water-saving, equipment recycling, and circular utilization. Establish and implement a green procurement system, provide green public services, conduct green operation and maintenance, and be able to collaboratively drive the improvement of green and low-carbon development levels within the industry chain and supply chain.
(6) In the past three years, there should be no instances of the following: abnormal business operations; accidents in safety (including network security, data security, production safety, etc.), quality, environmental pollution, or illegal and irregular behaviors such as tax evasion; severe problems identified during relevant supervision and inspection work by the State Council and relevant departments; being included in the industrial energy conservation supervision and rectification list without completing rectification as required; being included in the list of untrustworthy telecommunications business operators and the list of dishonest entities; administrative penalties imposed by relevant competent authorities; being a dishonest person subject to enforcement, etc.
II. Recommendation Procedures
(1) Relevant units may voluntarily participate, conduct creation and self-evaluation in accordance with the "Evaluation Index System for National Green Data Centers in 2025" and relevant requirements, and compile the "Self-Evaluation Report for National Green Data Centers in 2025" (Attachment 2). The applicant unit shall be responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of all materials provided.
(2) Provincial industrial and information technology administrative departments, in collaboration with the development and reform commissions, commerce administrative departments, energy departments, and communications administrations, shall be responsible for organizing the recommendation work in their respective regions. They shall review the completeness and authenticity of the materials submitted by the applicant units and recommend the qualified ones to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) (see Annex 3 for the recommendation summary form). The data centers under China Telecom Group Corporation, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., China United Network Communications Group Co., Ltd., and China Broadcasting Network Corporation Group Co., Ltd. shall be recommended to the MIIT by their respective group companies based on merit.
(3) The data centers under financial institutions and public institutions shall be separately notified by the National Financial Regulatory Administration and the National Government Offices Administration, which shall then recommend the qualified ones to the MIIT based on merit.
(4) The MIIT, in collaboration with six departments including the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Commerce, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the National Government Offices Administration, and the National Energy Administration, shall determine the list of national green data centers for 2025 through expert reviews, rechecks, and other means, and release the list in accordance with procedures.
III. Specific Requirements
(1) Provincial industrial and information technology administrative departments, relevant group companies, and relevant departments are requested to submit their recommendations and self-evaluation materials (two hard copies) for national green data centers to the MIIT (Department of Energy Conservation and Comprehensive Utilization) by August 1, 2025. The electronic versions shall be submitted simultaneously through the "Industrial Energy Conservation and Green Development Management Platform" (https://green.miit.gov.cn).
(2) Provincial industrial and information technology administrative departments, in collaboration with relevant departments, shall increase publicity, promotion, and support for national green data centers. They shall fully leverage the roles of industry associations, research institutions, and leading enterprises to carry out activities and practices such as case publicity, on-site meetings, and "energy conservation services entering enterprises" to create a favorable atmosphere for promoting the green and low-carbon development of data centers.
(3) Provincial industrial and information technology administrative departments, in collaboration with relevant departments, shall strengthen the guidance and management of national green data centers and promptly report to the MIIT the situations of units that no longer meet the requirements for national green data centers. The MIIT shall dynamically adjust the list of national green data centers in collaboration with relevant departments.
Contact person and phone number: Yang Han 010-68205366
Address: No. 13, Xichangan Street, Xicheng District, Beijing
Postal code: 100804
Annexes: 1. Evaluation Index System for National Green Data Centers in 2025.doc
2. Self-Evaluation Report for National Green Data Centers in 2025.wps
3. Recommended Summary List for National Green Data Centers in 2025.wps
General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
General Office of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC)
General Office of the Ministry of Commerce
General Office of the National Financial Regulatory Administration
General Office of the State Office Administration
General Office of the National Energy Administration
June 28, 2025
