As Europe faces growing energy challenges, data centre operators must adapt accordingly. Uncertainty around grid connections is making smart forward planning essential if facility cost, resilience and operational concerns are to be addressed. Billy Durie, Global Sector Head for Data Centres at Aggreko, shares practical guidance from the company’s latest whitepaper on how data centres can bridge this energy gap.

According to the CBRE, the need for colocation space in European data centres now exceeds supply, with major growth seen in 2023.¹ Driven by ever-increasing demand for digital services, the continent’s ongoing data centre construction boom is quite rightly seen as a good news story that transcends the continent’s borders. But the pressure this rapid expansion is putting on Europe’s power infrastructure should be noted, especially as facility grid connection delays continue to grow.

Indeed, German data centres are facing connection dates as far off as 2031, while their UK counterparts can be left waiting as long as 13 years for grid power². Elsewhere, the Dutch brought in strict new rules last year to govern data centre operations in Amsterdam³, and Dublin has paused facility construction until 2028.⁴

These issues have been long-standing in Tier 1 markets and may not come a surprise to experienced data centre stakeholders. But now, similar pressures are affecting Tier 2 markets including Madrid, Milan and Warsaw. An increasing number of projects in these countries are now subject to power delays, with over 200GW of projects awaiting grid connections in Italy and Spain alone.⁵

With data centres using about 1.5% of the world’s electricity, tackling these power issues is becoming more urgent, and will limit constructor and operators’ exposure to fines and

reputational damage.⁶ The need to address such concerns will grow at a commensurate rate to the size of the market. Ireland, where data centres now consume more power than all the urban homes combined, can provide a preview over how pressing this matter could become.⁷

Beyond power supply concerns, data centres are also navigating stricter sustainability rules and low-emissions regulations. For example, new EU legislation will soon require European data centres to report on energy use, as part of a broader effort to cut energy consumption across member states by 11.7% between 2020 and 2030. These changes will likely have a big impact on how the industry operates, and their progress and rollout should be monitored by facility stakeholders.

Initiatives including the European Commission's RePowerEU and various national government actions are helping accelerate the shift to green energy sources and aiming to reduce grid connection delays. But the benefits of these efforts may not be immediately apparent, and action will be required in the short-to-medium term to help alleviate current concerns.