As Greece aspires to diversify its offer beyond tourism, it is positioning itself as a hub for energy-intensive data centers. While it intends to leverage its renewable energy resources and strategic location, recent data by The Green Tank reveals that the country is already upping its use of fossil gas to meet the country’s electricity demands. As a result the question remains: can Greece sustain the growing demand for green energy while supporting its transition to a sustainable energy future?
Data Centers Demand Massive Energy
Data centers, vital for the digital economy and the AI revolution, consume enormous amounts of electricity. Europe’s powerhouse data center hubs are traditionally located in Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Paris, where there are ample energy sources. Other countries, such as Spain and Portugal have been trying to harness their renewable energy sources to enter the data center market, though their growth potential is limited by renewable energy infrastructure and grid capacity.
Similarly, experiences from countries like Ireland can serve as a cautionary tale to Greece. Ireland’s state-owned grid operator, EirGrid, warned the country’s ministers this past August of a potential “mass exodus” of data centers due to insufficient grid capacity, problems with connection agreements and more.
In the case of Greece, Eurostat has noted that the country outperformed the EU average in 2022 for use of renewable energy, but in other cases both the European Commission and players in Greece’s renewable energy market have noted the slow pace of connections, lacking grid infrastructure and bureaucratic challenges slowing the pace of growth.
Amazon’s $1 Billion Renewable Energy Investment in Greece
At the “AWS Day powered by Logicom” event in Athens on November 19, Amazon announced its largest renewable energy initiative in Greece to date- a $1 billion investment in three large-scale wind farms. Amazon hopes to generate clean energy to power its own operations in the country while advancing Greece’s overall renewable energy goals.
The wind farms will be located in Vermio, western and central Macedonia, and in the Peloponnese, and are expected to be operational by 2026. The projects will supply energy directly to the grid and are estimated to not only cover Amazon’s needs but to also release power back into the national grid, meeting the needs of 200,000 Greek households annually, as well as local businesses and public entities, says a recent report at AMNA.
In the report, Greece’s Minster for Environment and Energy Theodoros Skylakakis highlighted the initiative with Amazon as a critical step in boosting Greece’s renewable energy infrastructure while attracting global tech giants.
Data4’s Digital Campus in Paiania
Meanwhile, French company Data4 announced it is developing Greece’s largest digital campus in Paiania, East Attica, a €300 million investment. The project is slated for completion by 2027 and the campus aims to position Greece as a ‘gateway’ for data in Southern Europe.
DATA4 is a European data center operator, with 34 data centers across Europe, including in France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Germany and now Greece.
Data4’s President and CEO, Olivier Micheli, praised Greece’s investment-friendly environment and abundant renewable resources at a groundbreaking ceremony which was also attended by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, according to a report at OT.gr. The PM echoed Micheli, emphasizing Greece’s strategic location and its capacity for affordable wind and solar energy.
Renewables Lead, But Fossil Fuels Persist
Greece’s reliance on renewables is growing, with clean energy meeting 50.2% of electricity demand in the first nine months of 2024, according to The Green Tank. Greece also achieved a record low for lignite use and an 81.6% reduction in electricity imports compared to 2023, signaling progress toward energy self-sufficiency.
However, the summer months saw a spike in polluting fossil gas use to meet peak demands, exacerbated by a 45.7% drop in wind energy production in September. This calls into question Greece’s ability to support its ambitions in becoming a data center hub while keeping pace with the race to net zero.
Balancing Green Energy and Demand
While Amazon and Data4’s investments highlight Greece’s potential as a tech destination, the country faces hurdles. Grid constraints led to curtailments of 673 GWh of renewable energy in 2024, nearly matching the total curtailed in all of 2023. Addressing these issues will be critical to sustaining the influx of energy-hungry data centers.
Also, progress will need to be made on Greece’s regional deep sea cable interconnector projects, like GREGY and the Great Sea Interconnector, which have been slowed by geopolitical instability and disagreements over the cost-sharing.
By advancing infrastructure and optimizing renewable energy distribution, Greece indeed has the opportunity to solidify its role as a global data hub, balancing growth with sustainability, but it needs to significantly accelerate its progress in the roll-out of renewable energy generation, grid upgrades and regional connectivity.
