This week, the Brazilian’s Federal Law creating REDATA (the Special Tax Regime for Data Center Services) was enacted, following its approval by Congress earlier this month. The goal is to make Brazil more competitive in attracting digital infrastructure and new data centers to the country.
One of the key elements of the legislation is the inclusion of a specific criterion related to water use. To access the incentives, facilities will be required to report, on an annual basis, a Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) of no more than 0.05 L/kWh.
WUE relates water consumption to the energy used by information technology equipment and is an internationally recognized metric under ISO/IEC 30134-9. The methods for measuring, demonstrating, and verifying compliance with the requirements established under REDATA will still need to be detailed through specific regulation.
In addition to water efficiency, the regime establishes commitments related to sustainability, the use of renewable or low-emission energy, and the disclosure of indicators through periodic reporting.
With the expansion of artificial intelligence infrastructure, cloud computing, and data processing in Brazil, the new requirement places water management among the factors that must be considered in the planning and operation of data centers.
For the sector, this increases the importance of accurately understanding water supply sources, consumption volumes, reuse opportunities, and water traceability throughout operations.
We continue to monitor the next steps in the regulation process and its potential impacts on water management applied to digital infrastructure.
