Over the last several years, investment in data centers has surged as digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI) have accelerated. This rapid growth has sparked questions about how countries across Europe can address the rising electricity demand that will accompany this expansion of large-scale data centers.

While much of the projected data center growth is expected in the United States, other regions, including China and Europe, are also forecasted to see substantial increases in data center installations in the coming years, according to the International Energy Agency. As demand for digital infrastructure expands globally, ensuring sustainable energy sources becomes a crucial aspect of supporting these digital economies.

In Europe – including the EU, Norway, Switzerland, and the UK – the total IT load demand from data centers is expected to grow from the current 10 gigawatts (GW) to approximately 35 GW by 2030, according to McKinsey’s findings. This demand will likely push the region’s data center power consumption from around 62 terawatt hours (TWh) today to over 150 TWh by decade’s end. If realized, data centers could account for about 5% of total electricity consumption across Europe by 2030, up from roughly 2% today.

To meet this demand, Europe will require investments of at least $250-300 billion in data center infrastructure – excluding the costs for expanding power generation capacity.

Meeting the rising electricity demand will require an extensive increase in supply; a significant shift for Europe, where aggregate power demand has been mostly stagnant since 2007.

McKinsey & Company

As Europe prepares for this rapid increase in digital infrastructure needs, energy providers and policymakers will face the challenge of ensuring that the necessary upgrades to infrastructure are both timely and sustainable.