FDCA - Finnish Data Center Association’s Post

Sydney, we need to talk about data centres. According to an Oxford Economics July 2025 report produced for AEMO: - Sydney has the largest concentration of data centres in Australia, accounting for about 60-70% of all data centre energy consumption; - Data centres in Sydney are currently using 4% of NSW grid-supplied energy; - By my rough calculations, the 2.6TWh of electricity they consumed in 2024 is equivalent to the electricity consumed by a quarter of Greater Sydney's households (based on avg 5MWh of consumption/household). And there are loads more in the works. To be sure, some of them are building their own renewable electricity generation on site, and/or entering into power purchase agreements for off-site renewable energy investments. But we need renewables to be replacing existing fossil fuel generation, not just preventing future fossil fuel generation for additional electricity consumption. In the article linked below, the owner of NextDC (a major data centre operator) is quoted saying "The data centre is not the energy user. You are." It's true, I use Netflix. But this also feels a little like the oil companies saying "We're not the ones driving cars. You are." It evades the ways in which more and more and more computing power is not simply the cumulative outcome of individual demand, but is driven by other political-economic processes and accumulation strategies. And of course, the impacts of this growth of data centres go beyond electricity consumption - there's also the water they consume, and the land they use. Currently, several key data centre projects are being fast-tracked by the NSW State Government as 'State Significant" projects, over-riding local planning processes. And the energy market operator is scrambling to figure out how to supply electricity to the projected increase in data centres over the next couple of decades. As usual, the notion that we might want to have a bit more of a chat about whether data centre growth is a good thing is framed as crazy - instead, we have to figure all this out because this growth is a "huge economic opportunity for Australia" (to quote the Chair of the Australian Energy Market Commission from the same AFR article). But what exactly is the nature of that opportunity? They're definitely not huge employers once they're up and running. And there might be other things we could be doing with the land, labour, finance and materials used in their construction (... in the middle of a housing crisis and stuff). So I think we need to be interrogating the prioritisation of data centre growth in Sydney - which must also mean thinking critically about the way that AI is being woven into everyday life in more and more ways as an 'inevitability'. https://lnkd.in/gnQyajTV

Europe’s data centres are under the spotlight, and not just for their speed or storage capacity. ⚡ By 2026, the European Commission plans to roll out a Data Centre Energy Efficiency Package alongside its Strategic Roadmap on Digitalisation and AI. The goal? Carbon-neutral data centres by 2030. The update marks a major shift. Data centres are now recognised as both critical digital infrastructure and a key part of the EU’s green transition. New regulations will build on existing frameworks such as the Energy Efficiency Directive, the AI Act, and the EU Taxonomy Regulation, all pushing for greater transparency, reporting, and sustainability. 💚 What’s next? • A new European database tracking the energy performance of data centres above 500 kW • Incentives through EU funding programmes like Horizon Europe and InvestEU • Tighter efficiency standards across servers, storage, and cooling systems • A Cloud and AI Development Act is expected in early 2026 As Europe’s digital and energy agendas converge, operators and investors will need to adapt fast, balancing performance, compliance, and sustainability in equal measure. 📲 Read more: https://loom.ly/Tp_j44U #DataCentres #Sustainability #EnergyEfficiency #Digitalisation #AI #EURegulation #GreenTech #CloudComputing

The EU is ramping up efforts to make data centres carbon-neutral by 2030. With new efficiency rules and a digitalization roadmap due in 2026, evolving regulations could reshape investment and operations. Read our alert to learn more. https://ow.ly/gige50XeP6u #whitecase #datacentre #infrastructure

How can the UK accelerate data center development while balancing power demand and sustainability? At next week's UK Development & Finance Forum, NTT Global Data Centers' Konstantin Hartmann and other industry leaders will tackle some of the most pressing challenges shaping the future of #digitalinfrastructure: 💠 Breaking barriers: what are the key obstacles to UK data center development, and how are developers overcoming them? 💠 Renewable opportunities: how big is the potential for renewable energy generators in the UK? 💠 The grid question: is this a competition for connections or an opportunity for collaboration? These discussions will take place during the panel “Data Centres as a Driver for Power Demand,” moderated by Ulan Harrison-Davies and featuring experts from Apatura, Greenfield, Electric Land, and ING. Thank you, NPM Europe (New Project Media), for bringing together industry experts to discuss the challenges of data center development, power demand and #sustainability in the UK. For additional event information: https://lnkd.in/etfap-6z #NTTGlobalDataCenters #London #UKDevelopmentForum #RenewableEnergy #PowerDemand

I was speaking with a Project Director with the Data Centre sector today and he said, “It’s not the cranes that are missing—it’s the kilowatts.” Across Europe, data centre projects are being slowed or shelved not because of talent or funding… but because there’s simply not enough power. In Denmark, Finland, and Germany, grid capacity is stretched to the limit, and developers are being forced to get creative—building near renewable clusters, investing in battery storage, and designing smarter, more efficient facilities. It’s an exciting time for the sector, but also a reminder: energy is the new planning permission. How are you seeing clients or projects adapting to the grid challenge? Is there a quick fix? Let me know your thoughts on the above! #datacentre #hyperscale #DataCentreConstruction #DataCentreDevelopment #DigitalInfrastructure #EnergyInfrastructure #GridCapacity #PowerShortage #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #PowerResilience #europe

RECONCILING THE DATA CENTRE TRILEMMA - TURNING CONSTRAINT INTO CATALYST In recent weeks, over £10 billion in new data centre projects have been announced in London alone, responding to surging computing demands. With data centres accounting for over half of new electricity applications, the UK faces a critical challenge: ensuring clean, reliable, and scalable power to support this growth. The "data centre trilemma" framework introduces three key pillars: - Power Availability and Grid Access: Delays in grid connections and planning processes are stalling significant potential investments. - Clean Power and Sustainability Targets: Balancing decarbonisation with competitiveness requires innovative solutions like renewable PPAs and heat reuse. - Sector Growth and National Ambition: Expanding compute capacity is essential for AI, cloud services, and manufacturing, yet it must be sustainable and supported by clean energy. Successfully reconciling these priorities demands collaboration across energy and digital infrastructure, investors, regulators, and policymakers. The REA's new Data Centre Coalition aims to tackle these challenges, fostering partnerships and influencing policy for a clean energy transition. This is the exact type of collaboration the industry needs to drive forward sustainable growth and innovation. The Coalition will launch on 26 November 2025 (14:00-16:30) at Burges Salmon LLP, London. #DataCentre #CleanEnergy #UKDigitalTransformation

AI is driving power demand, but a new report from McKinsey & Company states that the US is uniquely affected by this, with data centers set to account for over 14% of the total domestic power demand by 2030. With these results impending, it’s more important than ever to make gains in energy efficiency and prioritize reliable infrastructure to ensure the continued stream of necessary power for data centers and other sites critical to the country. For more on this report and the global trends in AI-driven energy demand, check out Ellen Thomas' piece in Business Insider: https://hubs.ly/Q03QRDB90 #DataCenter #EnergyInfrastructure #EnergyEfficiency

Some groundbreaking research being done by the REA to help answer one of the biggest potential restraints that could slow a U.K. data centre boom - energy (don’t worry we are on it)

⚡ Is Spain’s power grid ready for the data center boom? The digital sector’s energy demand is growing faster than the grid’s capacity to keep up. 📍 In regions like Madrid, Catalonia, and the Basque Country, substation bottlenecks and connection timelines of up to 36 months are slowing down strategic projects. We’ve prepared a free technical white paper that analyzes the real state of Spain’s grid and the most innovative solutions industry leaders are implementing to ensure reliability, resilience, and efficiency. 🔍 Here’s a sneak peek. 👇 To keep reading, download the full white paper through the link in the first comment. #DataCenters #EnergyInfrastructure #DigitalTransformation #Energy #Sustainability #RENMADDatacenters #DigitalSpain #CriticalInfrastructure

A new facility off Shanghai combines offshore wind turbines with undersea cooling to power and chill a data center, marking a moment of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Read the summary of the Wired.com article on ENGtechnica: https://lnkd.in/g2_p5_9b #computing #datacenter #sustainability