Planned and existing data centres in Belgium are expected to consume eight times more electricity by 2034 than they do today, according to new forecasts by grid operator Elia reported by De Standaard, Het Nieuwsblad and Gazet van Antwerpen.
Earlier Elia forecasts accounted for up to 15.8 terawatt hours of data centre demand seeking access to Belgium’s high-voltage grid. That is roughly equal to the average electricity use of about 4.5 million households.
In Elia’s latest calculations, that figure has been raised to 24.1 terawatt hours. Added to the 3.2 terawatt hours already consumed by Belgian data centres today, total demand could reach 27.3 terawatt hours by 2034.
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Most current data centre electricity use is in Wallonia, where Google has built a large complex.
Not all projects for which applications have been submitted will necessarily go ahead. Companies often reserve grid capacity at several locations before deciding where to build.
Even so, data centres are set to push electricity demand sharply higher in the coming years. In a maximum scenario, Belgium’s total electricity consumption could rise to 172 terawatt hours by 2034.
That would be more than double current consumption and above what Elia itself expects.
Measures have already been introduced to stop data centres from reserving more grid capacity than they need. Earlier this year, energy regulator Creg changed the code of conduct for applications to the high-voltage grid.
Developers must now show that concrete talks are under way to buy land. Projects that are not built on time will lose their reserved capacity.
