As northern Europe increasingly reaches
saturation point in terms of data centre development,
the industry's gaze increasingly turns southward,
a trend analysts say will substantially shape
the continent's power price and energy demand outlook
Ireland's experience serves as a stark
illustration of the challenges ahead.
Recent statistics show that Irish
data centres in Dublin now consume
more electricity than households,
prompting the city to impose
a moratorium on new data centre development.
This cautionary tale has led developers
to explore options in countries like
Italy, Greece and Portugal,
where there's enough available grid space.
The southern European market has a GDP
of about 20% of the total European GDP
and we only have 10% of the data centre capacity.
I think it's also a question of population.
Again we have about 20% of the European population
and we only have 10%
of the power capacity of data centres.
so I think there is a huge potential in terms
of expansion and in the next 10 years or so
we are waiting for the market capacity to double.
This southward migration is expected
to have a significant impact on
south European energy markets.
For example, data centre electricity consumption
in Italy is expected to reach 1.4 GW by 2028,
while Spain anticipates a 3 GW increase by 2030.
Power purchase agreements, or PPAs as they're known,
seem set to emerge as a key strategy
in managing this increased demand.
PPA contracts are very important because
they are allowing you know us,
as operators of data centres to get to the
supply of, you know, sustainable power.
more and more sustainable power demand.
The experience of northern Europe,
particularly Ireland, underscores the need
for a balanced and planned growth,
so it'll be interesting to see
what countries like Italy and Spain do
in terms of striking the right balance
between pushing for digital growth
and achieving their climate objectives.
For sure, any decisions being made now
will substantially reshape the continent's data centre
industry but also its energy landscape in coming decades.
And also, you know, the demand for PPAs
is also pushing for the creation of
new sustainable power so it's pushing for
