The World Is About to Spend $3 Trillion Building Enormous Computer Warehouses
Here's why it matters, what's getting in the way, and what it means if you work in construction, energy, or infrastructure.
What actually is a data centre?
Every time you stream a film, send an email, or ask an AI a question, you're relying on one of these buildings. They're the hidden backbone of modern life.
A data centre is a purpose-built warehouse filled with powerful computers that store, process, and move data. They range from small "edge" facilities (1–10 MWMW = megawatt. A measure of electrical power. 1 MW powers roughly 750 average homes. Large data centres use 50–100+ MW.) near where data is needed, all the way up to "hyperscale" campuses run by the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon that use more electricity than a small city.
About two-thirds of all new data centres being planned today are in the "large" category - 50 MW or more. These aren't server rooms in an office basement. They're industrial-scale infrastructure projects.
Who are the main players in Europe?
The market breaks into three camps
How fast is this market growing?
In a word: extraordinarily. Experts are calling it an "infrastructure supercycle" - a once-in-a-generation wave of building and investment.
Global data centre capacity is set to double
Power supply forecast by region (gigawatts), 2025 vs 2030
Source: JLL Research, 2026
"In the AI world, power equals revenue."
Lee Prescott, CTO, RED Engineering (Tractebel)
AI is the engine behind the boom
Artificial intelligence is reshaping what data centres need to do - and how much power they need to do it.
According to McKinsey, AI could account for 70% of all data centre work by 2030, up from roughly 25% today. The demand for AI computing power is expected to grow 3.5x in just five years.
Here's the key insight: training an AI model is a one-off burst. But once trained, that model answers questions, writes code, and processes data all day, every day. This constant "inference" work is what's really driving the demand - and it never stops.
That's why power availability, not location or cost, is becoming the number-one factor in deciding where to build.
AI is taking over data centre workloads
Global demand by workload type (GW), 2025–2030
Source: McKinsey & Company, 2026
Not enough electricity to go round
All these new data centres need vast amounts of power. The grid wasn't built for this - and the queues to connect are years long.
How long to get plugged into the grid?
Wait time for a new 50 MW data centre, by city (years)
Source: JLL Research, 2026
The IEA projects data centre electricity use could increase sixfold by 2035. In the US alone, there's an expected shortfall of 60 GWGW = gigawatt = 1,000 megawatts. The UK's entire electricity system peaks at roughly 40–50 GW. by 2030.
Some cities have told builders: "bring your own power." Dublin has paused new data centre grid connections entirely until 2028. Amsterdam faces a 10-year wait. Even London is looking at 8 years.
European electricity also costs 3–4x more than in the US, China, or Scandinavia. Over €800 billion will be invested in grid upgrades across Europe this decade just to keep up.
Building costs are climbing fast
Construction costs have risen roughly 7% a year since 2020, and can hit $25 million per megawatt once you add the tech inside.
What does it cost to build, city by city?
Average construction cost per MW ($m), selected global markets
Source: JLL Research, 2026
Where's the money coming from?
Data centre builders are using an increasingly creative mix of financing: credit facilities, asset-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities, and industrial revenue bonds. Morgan Stanley expects total borrowing by cloud companies to reach $400 billion this year - more than double the $165 billion borrowed in 2025.
What's happening in Europe and the UK?
Europe has ~11 GW of capacity today across 3,000 facilities, with vacancy below 7%. Over €100 billion of investment is expected by 2030.
There's 2.6 GW under construction and 11.5 GW in planning. The French market is roughly half the size of the UK, but both are growing at similar rates (13–14% CAGR).
In the UK, London dominates with 67% of total capacity. The government has committed to AI Growth Zones and faster planning. Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are expected to add over 1 GW of new capacity in the near term.
But the biggest constraint remains getting connected to the power grid, especially in London and the South East. Projected growth could add up to 71 TWh of new electricity demand by 2050 - roughly a fifth of what the UK generates today.
European pipeline is surging
Capacity (MW) by country, 2025 vs 2030
Source: DC Bytes / S&P Global, 2025
Regulators are paying attention
Over 35 countries now have policies covering carbon credits for data centres. Cooling efficiency, renewable energy mandates, and water usage are all attracting new regulation.
In the EU, mandatory sustainability reporting is creating real accountability. In the US, corporate pledges exist but remain largely unenforceable. The conference consensus: invest in sustainability now, ahead of regulation.
The bottom line for you
This is one of the biggest infrastructure opportunities of the decade. But success depends on three things:
1. Secure power early - it's the binding constraint and takes years to arrange.
2. Manage rising costs - through smart procurement and design.
3. Stay ahead of regulation - particularly on sustainability and energy.
The companies that move first to lock in power and planning will hold a decisive advantage.
Sources & attribution
Based on presentations at the Franco-British Conference on Data Centres, organised by CCE, with Pinsent Masons and Legrand.
Conference panellists: Joe Milnes (UK Atomic Energy Authority), Mark Acton (DC Consultant), Peter Feehan (Pinsent Masons), Jean-Philippe Establier (Digital Realty), Stanislas Couriet Bossan (AGC Equity Partners), Lee Prescott (RED Engineering CTO), Derek Allen (Global Switch), Blandine Antoine (Legrand Group), Prof. Mark Kennedy (Imperial College). Co-moderated by Fabienne Viala, Pascal Stutz, Luc Bardin, and Sebastien Bonneau.