Rewiring for growth

The report 'Rewiring for growth' examines how smarter grid strategies, including phased connections, flexible load agreements, and strategic siting, can accelerate the deployment of data centres and AI infrastructure while reducing the need for extensive grid expansion.

• Grid connection wait times are a critical factor in data centre site selection, with some primary European markets seeing wait times of seven to ten years, or up to 13 years. Countries that can halve these connection times are projected to attract approximately 20% more data centre growth by 2030. Italy is highlighted as a growth market where wait times are as low as three years; by the end of 2024, the Italian TSO Terna had received grid connection requests totaling 30 GW, which is about 40% of Italy's current peak electricity demand.
• Data centres often underutilise their contracted grid capacity, with European averages at 44% in 2024, and specific rates of 34% in Ireland and 30% in Norway (where only 150 MW of 500 MW connected capacity was used in 2023). This low utilisation supports a 'phased connection' approach where developers receive 50% of capacity immediately and the rest over time. In the US, such an approach could potentially reduce connection queue times from 5–8 years down to 12–18 months.
• Implementing flexible or non-firm grid connections—where consumption can be interrupted during extreme weather or grid stress—can unlock capacity and shorten wait times. The IEA estimates that if European data centres provided just 30 hours of annual flexibility, available grid capacity for them could more than double. While often modeled as flat loads, actual consumption can vary by up to 30% between days. Belgium is currently exploring flexibility scenarios ranging from 0% to 75% in its long-term electricity plan.
• Strategic siting and joint planning can reduce grid investment needs and accelerate project timelines. Examples include EDF in France offering industrial sites with approximately 2 GW of capacity, and the UK government's February 2025 call for 'AI Growth Zones' (AIGZ) to identify clusters of 500 MW+ of AI infrastructure. The UK's NESO is also utilizing a Strategic Spatial Energy Planning process to align grid investments with renewables and demand assets.

APA

Ember (2025). Rewiring for growth. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rewiring-for-growth/

Chicago

Ember. Rewiring for growth. 2025. https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rewiring-for-growth/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Ember |title=Rewiring for growth |date=19 June 2025 |url=https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rewiring-for-growth/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ember2025rewiring, author = {{Ember}}, title = {{Rewiring for growth}}, institution = {Ember}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://ember-energy.org/chapter/rewiring-for-growth/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }