AI demand is leading to major data center expansions - but do they have the power to fully operate? (www.techradar.com)

Savills’ new market research warns that Europe, the Middle East and Africa are racing to build data center capacity for AI but may not have the energy to run it. So far in 2025 just 850 MW of power has been delivered across EMEA—11% less than a year earlier—while new take-up totals 845 MW and occupancy has climbed to 91% (Q3). With IDC forecasting AI spending to hit $144.6 billion by 2030 and Gartner predicting two in five data centers could face power constraints by 2027, AI-optimized server deployments are expected to push IT power demand to roughly 500 TWh (about 2.5× 2023 levels), creating acute supply-side pressure and upward rental pricing. The crunch is amplified by soaring construction costs ($7.3–13.3M per MW), labor and supply-chain bottlenecks, and land shortages, which have driven 17–28% cost rises in several European markets. Operators are responding by pre-letting more space, forging closer supplier relationships, and expanding into non‑traditional regions with easier access to land and power (Portugal +60% live capacity, Saudi Arabia +49%, Spain +25%, UAE +20%). Technical implications include higher site-level power density, accelerated demand for on-site substations and grid upgrades, tighter renewable and storage integration, and growing relevance of energy procurement and efficiency engineering in data center design and finance.