Access to energy is biggest problem facing European data centres
Access to power supply is the most pressing challenge affecting data centre developers in Europe, according to a new report.
The European Data Centre Association (EUDCA) 2026 State of European Data Centres Report notes that “a significant factor affecting the industry is energy availability and access”.
“Power availability is reported as the top challenge for more than two thirds (67%) of operators. Grid congestion and long connection timelines in many geographies are slowing deployment,” the report says.
The report finds that Europe’s data centre sector is entering a period of expansion, structural diversification, and rapid technological transformation, driven by AI. However, its ability to fully exploit potential growth is threatened by access to energy.
The new EUDCA report says there is growth not only within traditional centres such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, but also that data centres are rapidly decentralising into southern Europe, the Nordics, and central and eastern Europe.
Capacity is growing rapidly. Europe’s IT power capacity grew from 10,539MW in 2023 to 14,784MW in 2025, exceeding forecasts. A further €176 billion in cumulative investment is expected from 2026–2031.
Scale colocation campuses and AI-optimised facilities dominate new builds. A CAGR exceeding 25% through to 2031 is expected for scale colocation, reflecting rising demand for high-density cloud and AI clusters.
Traditional retail and wholesale sites continue to expand, but their relative share of new capacity is declining as customers increasingly require multi-building, AI-ready environments with long-term scalability, says the report.
Hyperscale data centre expansion is accelerating into regions with access to renewable energy and favourable operating conditions. Training workloads tend to favour regions with abundant power availability such as the Nordics and parts of southern Europe.
A notable driver of growth is the rise of neocloud – providers of ultra-high-density compute with rapid deployment capability and large power tranches aligned with the needs of AI developers, global model providers and emerging cloud-adjacent platforms.
Technologically, AI clusters are pushing extreme rack densities beyond 100kW, calling for changes in data centre design, deployment and operation, as well as driving a rapid shift toward liquid and hybrid cooling architectures, according to the report.
The report says the data centre sector contributed €53 billion to European GDP in 2025, rising to an expected €137.5 billion by 2031, with more than 300,000 jobs supported across the ecosystem.
The report says data centre facilities and campuses bring local benefits, such as supporting district heating, providing flexibility services, entering into renewable energy power purchase agreements, and developing community infrastructure.
The report claimed that 90% of energy consumed by European data centres is now generated from renewable energy sources. It also says there has been strong progress on water usage effectiveness and heat reuse integration.reuse integration
“The exceptional growth of Europe’s data centre market is welcome news at a time when international volatility has focused many geographies on digital sovereignty and security,” said EUDCA secretary general, Michael Winterson.
“Once the issues of power availability and access are addressed, Europe has the opportunity to lead globally in AI-ready infrastructure while maintaining the highest standards of sustainability and responsible stewardship.”
The European Data Centre Association (EUDCA) 2026 State of European Data Centres Report notes that “a significant factor affecting the industry is energy availability and access”.
“Power availability is reported as the top challenge for more than two thirds (67%) of operators. Grid congestion and long connection timelines in many geographies are slowing deployment,” the report says.
The report finds that Europe’s data centre sector is entering a period of expansion, structural diversification, and rapid technological transformation, driven by AI. However, its ability to fully exploit potential growth is threatened by access to energy.
The new EUDCA report says there is growth not only within traditional centres such as Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, Paris and Dublin, but also that data centres are rapidly decentralising into southern Europe, the Nordics, and central and eastern Europe.
Capacity is growing rapidly. Europe’s IT power capacity grew from 10,539MW in 2023 to 14,784MW in 2025, exceeding forecasts. A further €176 billion in cumulative investment is expected from 2026–2031.
Scale colocation campuses and AI-optimised facilities dominate new builds. A CAGR exceeding 25% through to 2031 is expected for scale colocation, reflecting rising demand for high-density cloud and AI clusters.
Traditional retail and wholesale sites continue to expand, but their relative share of new capacity is declining as customers increasingly require multi-building, AI-ready environments with long-term scalability, says the report.
Hyperscale data centre expansion is accelerating into regions with access to renewable energy and favourable operating conditions. Training workloads tend to favour regions with abundant power availability such as the Nordics and parts of southern Europe.
A notable driver of growth is the rise of neocloud – providers of ultra-high-density compute with rapid deployment capability and large power tranches aligned with the needs of AI developers, global model providers and emerging cloud-adjacent platforms.
Technologically, AI clusters are pushing extreme rack densities beyond 100kW, calling for changes in data centre design, deployment and operation, as well as driving a rapid shift toward liquid and hybrid cooling architectures, according to the report.
The report says the data centre sector contributed €53 billion to European GDP in 2025, rising to an expected €137.5 billion by 2031, with more than 300,000 jobs supported across the ecosystem.
The report says data centre facilities and campuses bring local benefits, such as supporting district heating, providing flexibility services, entering into renewable energy power purchase agreements, and developing community infrastructure.
The report claimed that 90% of energy consumed by European data centres is now generated from renewable energy sources. It also says there has been strong progress on water usage effectiveness and heat reuse integration.reuse integration
“The exceptional growth of Europe’s data centre market is welcome news at a time when international volatility has focused many geographies on digital sovereignty and security,” said EUDCA secretary general, Michael Winterson.
“Once the issues of power availability and access are addressed, Europe has the opportunity to lead globally in AI-ready infrastructure while maintaining the highest standards of sustainability and responsible stewardship.”
