European countries are racing bringing up-to-date data centers online as artificial intelligence labs around the world continue to require more computing power. The main limiting factor is energy, specifically the ability to move it.
While Europe is on track to produce enough energy, utility experts say, grid operators fundamentally lack the infrastructure needed to transport energy to where it is needed. This is throttling network performance and, consequently, the number of up-to-date energy-intensive data centers that can connect without the risk of power outages.
National Grid, which operates the transmission network in England and Wales, says proposed data centers representing more than 30 gigawatts (GW) of energy demand are waiting to be connected to the grid, representing two-thirds of the UK’s peak demand. Even considering the likelihood that some of these data centers will never be built, there is currently not enough space to accommodate them.
Waiting for permission to connect is ongoing causing some data center projects to failundermining European ambitions take over the part hundreds of billions of dollars AI labs spend on computation. “Across Europe, projects are being canceled due to lack of network access,” says Taco Engelaar, managing director at network optimization company Neara.
Under pressure from the government to clear the gridlock, grid operators are experimenting with ways to make their existing networks more productive – from changing the metals used in power lines, to bypassing areas of congestion, to choosing how much power is sent up and down the lines depending on changes in weather conditions.
“There is no one simple solution,” says Steve Smith, president of National Grid Partners, the venture capital arm of National Grid. “What you have to do is a lot of everything.”
The queue of data centers waiting to connect to the British grid network has begun will grow rapidly at the end of 2024about this time the government he appointed them “critical national infrastructure”. Since then, the number of connection applications has “far exceeded even the most ambitious forecasts” and the queue has tripled, according to British energy regulator Ofgem. “We knew we had a new wave of demand coming from the electrification of transportation and heating,” Smith says. “Now we have artificial intelligence at the top.”
The obvious solution is to build up-to-date power lines, but this is costly and snail-paced. Depending on the scale of the investment, up-to-date transmission infrastructure could take anywhere from seven to fourteen years to build, taking into account potential planning issues, legal concerns, supply chain and labor bottlenecks, and construction activities. “It takes time to bury everything in the ground, connect it and employ linemen to do all the work,” says Jack Presley Abbott, deputy director of strategic planning and connectivity at Ofgem.
The UK’s particular geographical location creates further problems. Much of the UK’s renewable energy is produced in Scotland and northern England, while energy consumption – including by data centers – is concentrated at the opposite, more populous end of the country. Meanwhile, the challenging terrain on the UK’s western flank means transmission lines must be routed along the country’s eastern inland or offshore, limiting opportunities to expand the network.
In this context, National Grid is experimenting with technologies that can be deployed after the fact to squeeze more power from the grid and potentially enable more data centers to be connected. “Large customers who are willing to pay to use your network are fantastic. The trick is, can you find a way to connect them where you don’t have to build a huge amount of new infrastructure?” says Smith.