Data center power demand surges, straining grids in Greece and Australia

Data center expansion is placing significant pressure on national electricity grids in Greece and Australia, driven largely by the global surge in AI-related computing demand.

In Greece, the electricity grid operator ADMIE has seen connection requests quadruple to nearly 5 gigawatts, a capacity exceeding the country's total residential demand. To manage this, the Environment and Energy Ministry is drafting a framework to prioritize mature, ready-to-build projects and filter out speculative requests that might tie up scarce grid capacity. Major players in the Greek market include Microsoft, which is investing nearly €976 million in local facilities, and Digital Realty. Additionally, the public utility DEI is planning a 300-megawatt data center campus in Western Macedonia.

In Australia, Transgrid has released modeling suggesting that peak data center demand could reach 3.5 gigawatts by 2035. This figure is double the previous forecasts provided by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The discrepancy highlights the uncertainty regarding the energy consumption of AI-driven facilities. Transgrid has noted that developers have submitted energy requests equivalent to double the state's peak demand levels, prompting calls for increased spending on network expansions to maintain grid stability.