Belgium mulls energy limits for power-hungry data centres as AI demand surges

By Alban Kacher

(Reuters) -Belgium's grid operator could set an electricity allocation limit on data centres to prevent other industrial users from being squeezed out, it said, following a surge in demand from the energy-intensive facilities that power AI.

Under reforms proposed by the operator Elia, data centres would be placed in a separate category that would allow grid capacity to be allocated specifically for them within a set limit, the company told Reuters.

That would ensure other sectors are not blocked out from connecting to the network, the operator said, adding that flexible connections where access may be limited during grid congestion would remain possible.

While major tech companies splurge billions of dollars on AI technologies and the data centres that run them, countries around the world are scrambling to meet the sudden demand for energy required to run the buildings, which are expected to drive power consumption to record highs over the next two years.

In Belgium, requests from data centres have shot up nine-fold since 2022, with reserved capacity for 2034 already running at more than double the 8 terawatt-hours foreseen in national grid development plans, Elia said.

"Such volumes were not anticipated during the development of the various grid development scenarios for Belgium’s electricity network," it said, emphasising the need to stop speculative developments that are unlikely to materialise from blocking grid capacity.

The evolution of data centre consumption will be addressed in the upcoming 2028–2038 federal grid development plan, the country's energy minister Mathieu Bihet told parliament earlier this week.

"I will pay particular attention to this during the plan’s approval," he said on Tuesday.

U.S. tech giant Google has plans to invest 5 billion euros ($5.80 billion) in Belgium, aiming to expand its data centre campuses to support its AI strategy.

(Reporting by Alban Kacher; Editing by Muvija M)