Greece’s draft government framework would impose land, renewable-power, grid-cost and financial-guarantee requirements on data-centre investors as applications to connect exceed 12 GW. Projects with signed connection agreements or final offers total just 517 MW, according to the figures set out with the proposal.
The gap highlights the risk of speculative grid reservations, with applications far outnumbering projects that have reached a more advanced stage. Greece is seeking investment in AI and cloud infrastructure while trying to keep speculative requests from crowding generation, industry or housing out of scarce network capacity.
Under the draft, projects above 200 MW would receive priority. Investors would have to secure land for at least ten years and source at least 60% of each data centre’s annual electricity consumption from renewable energy.
Investors would also cover grid-upgrade costs attributable to their projects and provide financial guarantees of €200,000 per MW. The proposed capital commitments and renewable procurement requirements are intended to test project readiness before applicants receive a place in the grid connection queue.
Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and other Southeast European markets are also seeking digital infrastructure investment as they expand grids for electrification and renewables. Greece’s proposal sets out obligations on power sourcing, connection costs and investment readiness for large data-centre projects.
The approach points to data centres being treated as system-scale infrastructure projects rather than ordinary consumers. Its stated principle is “no grid capacity without proof of project maturity.”
