nLighten reports first ICFEn scores for UK, Germany, Spain
Author: Joe Peck
nLighten, a European data centre operator, has announced the first Integrated Carbon-Free Energy (ICFEn) scores for its data centres in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain, something the company considers a significant step in how environmental performance is measured within the sector.
Developed in collaboration with the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), nLighten says the ICFEn framework introduces a more comprehensive approach to sustainability reporting by assessing hourly carbon-free energy matching, heat recovery, and contributions to grid stability.
Unlike traditional metrics that rely on annual averages or focus solely on energy consumption, the company notes that ICFEn provides real-time insights into how facilities contribute to decarbonisation through energy reuse and system integration.
A new framework for transparent environmental reporting
The ICFEn model builds upon the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy concept by including three key elements: hourly renewable electricity matching, heat recovery, and grid stabilisation.
This combined methodology aligns with the EU Energy Efficiency Directive, as well as sustainability standards such as the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol and the Science Based Targets initiative.
Chad McCarthy, Chief Technology Officer at nLighten, comments, “Traditional sustainability metrics have focused on the data centre’s electrical energy profile, but ICFEn integrates the data centre into a community energy system, accounting for both consumption and contribution.
“By including heat recovery and real-time renewable energy matching, we’re offering customers and stakeholders unprecedented transparency about our environmental impact, hour by hour, not just as year-end averages.”
nLighten’s facilities in the UK, Germany, and Spain achieved good ICFEn scores through renewable power purchase agreements and heat recovery initiatives.
Its UK data centres recorded an ICFEn score of 94.61%, higher than the regional carbon-free energy grid average of 56.47%.
The company achieves hourly renewable energy matching by integrating renewable assets into its portfolio and aligning their production with operational demand in real time. This aims to ensure that data centres are powered by clean energy when it is actively being consumed.
Francesco Marasco, Vice President of Energy Operations and Sustainability at nLighten, adds, “We’re not just measuring renewable energy consumption, but quantifying environmental improvement through sustainable projects, for which we share the calculation method transparently.
“The ICFEn methodology allows us to demonstrate measurable, system-wide benefits that lower community emissions. We encourage other operators to adopt this framework, as raising awareness of data centres’ environmental contributions benefits the wider sector.”
Encouraging wider adoption
nLighten has made the ICFEn methodology publicly available under a Creative Commons licence to encourage industry-wide adoption.
The framework’s release coincides with updates to the GHG Protocol, which are expected to introduce hourly-based renewable energy reporting requirements.
The company plans to extend ICFEn reporting to all European sites and introduce third-party verification of hourly energy and heat recovery data as part of its next phase of implementation.
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