Data center booms across Europe drive infrastructure needs, facing grid capacity and environmental challenges.
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Bulgaria is experiencing a boom in data centers following previous booms in photovoltaics and batteries, with significant investment interest focused on AI and computational model training. The Energy System Operator reports nearly 9,000 MW of connection requests by May 2026, primarily concentrated in major cities like Plovdiv and Varna. Experts caution that these demands are unrealistic for Southeastern Europe and suggest that a dedicated national policy is needed to prevent speculative capacity hoarding. A planned subsea cable connecting Bulgaria with Georgia and Turkey aims to position the country as a digital hub. Internationally, Ireland hosts major tech players but faces local opposition regarding environmental impact; Italy sees an unprecedented boom in data center projects driven by AI, though regulation varies regionally; Spain is investing heavily in specialized AI hyper-factories to reduce dependence on foreign infrastructure; France has numerous operational centers and is actively positioning itself for large AI infrastructure; and Austria prioritizes digitalization, with some major projects facing criticism from environmental groups despite high renewable energy usage claims.
