Europe — Use cases
Energy modelling for European data centres
European data centres face compound pressures: grid connection moratoria, congestion charges, CSRD scope 2 reporting, RE100 and SBTi commitments, and rising electricity prices. HOMER Grid models the on-site and PPA-backed energy strategies that address these pressures in each of Europe's major data centre markets.
The European data centre energy challenge
European data centres consumed an estimated 100 TWh in 2023 and this figure is growing rapidly with AI workloads. The intersection of that growth with European grid constraints — congestion in Ireland and the Netherlands, transformer lead times of 18–36 months across the continent, and the EU's CSRD directive requiring audited renewable energy procurement — has made energy strategy a C-suite concern for every hyperscale and enterprise data centre operator in Europe.
HOMER Grid models the full on-site energy system for data centres: UPS battery systems, on-site generation (solar, fuel cells, backup generators), Power Purchase Agreements with renewable generators, and demand flexibility through workload shifting. The output supports investment decisions, PPA tender specifications, and the renewable matching calculations required for CSRD scope 2 reporting.
Ireland — CRU connection moratorium
Ireland's Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) imposed a moratorium on large data centre connections to the EirGrid transmission system in the Dublin area from 2022, citing grid stability concerns. The moratorium has since evolved into a conditional framework where new connections require demonstrated flexibility commitments and renewable matching. Dublin hosts over 70 large data centres — including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple — accounting for approximately 20% of Irish electricity consumption.
HOMER Grid models the on-site battery storage and on-site generation configurations that new and existing Dublin data centres require to satisfy CRU flexibility conditions. The avoided grid reinforcement costs and the value of demand flexibility to EirGrid's DS3 programme are both captured in HOMER Grid's economic analysis.
Netherlands — grid congestion
The Netherlands faces Europe's most severe distribution-level grid congestion. TenneT (transmission) and Liander, Enexis, and Stedin (distribution) have published multi-year congestion maps showing large portions of the grid in Noord-Holland (Amsterdam, where most Dutch data centres are located) as full. New connections require congestion studies and often infrastructure contributions from connecting parties.
HOMER Grid models the demand flexibility and on-site generation strategies that allow Dutch data centres to operate within their contracted grid capacity whilst maintaining uptime SLAs. The peak demand shaving capabilities of battery UPS — sized not just for IT backup power but for grid demand management — are central to the Dutch data centre energy strategy that HOMER Grid supports.
Nordic countries — hyperscale and renewable PPAs
The Nordic hyperscale clusters — Meta's Odense facility (Denmark), Google's Hamina (Finland), Microsoft's data centres in Sweden and Norway — are characterised by long-term renewable PPAs providing near-100% renewable supply. The economics are driven by wind and hydro PPA prices well below €50/MWh, low cooling costs, and political stability.
HOMER Grid models Nordic data centre PPA structures — typically 10–15 year fixed-price wind or hydro PPAs — alongside on-site battery systems that can participate in Nordic FCR-N and FCR-D ancillary service markets. The dual role of the battery (UPS + ancillary services) significantly improves project economics and is a feature of several Scandinavian data centre deployments.
Germany — Frankfurt cluster and §14a EnWG
Frankfurt is Europe's largest data centre cluster by colocation capacity — DE-CIX, the world's largest internet exchange, anchors a dense concentration of carrier-neutral facilities, hyperscale campuses, and enterprise data centres. German electricity prices — the highest in Europe for industrial consumers until the 2022/23 interventions — drove aggressive on-site solar-plus-storage deployments that HOMER Grid models.
§14a of the Energiewirtschaftsgesetz (EnWG) created a controllable consumption device (steuerbare Verbrauchseinrichtung) framework that allows distribution network operators to curtail large flexible loads — including data centre cooling and UPS charging — in exchange for reduced network tariffs. HOMER Grid models the economic value of this §14a flexibility for German data centre operators.
United Kingdom — London and behind-the-meter
London Docklands (Slough Trading Estate, Park Royal) hosts Europe's second-largest colocation market. UK data centre energy costs are among Europe's highest — driving C&I solar-plus-storage deployments and Power Purchase Agreements with UK renewable generators. HOMER Grid models UK data centre facilities against half-hourly distribution use-of-system charges, Triad avoidance strategies, and Demand Flexibility Service participation through aggregators.
CSRD, SBTi, and RE100 modelling
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large EU companies — and non-EU companies with significant EU operations — to report scope 2 electricity emissions using both market-based and location-based methods. For data centres, scope 2 is often the dominant emission category. RE100 and SBTi commitments add the requirement for 100% renewable procurement and Scope 2 targets verified against science-based pathways.
HOMER Grid's granular renewable matching capabilities — hour-by-hour matching of on-site generation, PPA delivery, and grid import against facility consumption — support the renewable energy certificate (REC) accounting required for CSRD and the 24/7 carbon-free energy matching increasingly required by advanced RE100 members.