Summary
- Dutch grid operators say data centres account for almost one-third of requested electricity connection capacity on the waiting list, approximately 15GW.
- Laurens Dassen's parliamentary questions seek information on ownership, development pipelines, European sovereignty and the criteria governing future data centres.
- Requested connection capacity must be distinguished from installed electrical infrastructure, operating IT load and actual electricity consumption.
A Dutch parliamentarian has called for greater scrutiny of data centre electricity requirements and foreign ownership after network operators disclosed that the sector accounts for approximately 15GW of requested connection capacity on the country’s electricity grid waiting list.
Laurens Dassen, a member of the House of Representatives for Volt, submitted written questions on 16 October following an investigation by Dutch current affairs programme Nieuwsuur. The questions seek details of data centre ownership, future capacity, the availability of computing resources to European businesses and the conditions under which new developments should proceed.
Network operators told Nieuwsuur that data centres represent almost one-third of the electrical connection capacity being sought by applicants on the waiting list. The approximately 15GW figure describes requests for network capacity rather than connected facilities, operating computing load or electricity already being consumed.
The scale of those requests has prompted Netbeheer Nederland, the association representing Dutch grid operators, to press the national government for clearer decisions about where additional data centres should be accommodated. The organisation argues that electricity network investment cannot be planned efficiently without a more definite approach to large new loads.
Grid requests require national decisions
In the Nieuwsuur investigation, Joris de Groot of network operator Alliander argued that the Netherlands must make choices about the types and locations of future data centre development. Those choices would help network operators determine where expensive infrastructure reinforcement is justified.
The electricity system faces competing demands from housing, businesses, industrial facilities and transport electrification. Data centres are among the largest potential individual loads, particularly where developers propose campuses requiring substantial high-voltage connections.
A request for a large connection does not establish that the applicant has secured a final connection agreement, received all planning approvals or committed sufficient financing to build the proposed facility.
Projects may remain in development for several years while electrical and planning questions are resolved. Network operators nevertheless need to assess prospective demand when considering substations, cables, transformers and other infrastructure with long delivery times.
The figures reported by Nieuwsuur illustrate the scale of that planning problem. The investigation identifies nearly 200 larger Dutch data centres and approximately 300 smaller facilities, with about 200 additional developments anticipated.
These counts describe different categories of existing and prospective facilities. They should not be added together and treated as a verified schedule of new commissioned capacity.
The investigation also reports that almost 15,500 applicants were waiting for electricity connections during the first half of 2026. That wider waiting list includes multiple classes of customer and is not a count of data centre projects.
Grid operators estimate that electricity network expansion could cost more than €200 billion by 2040. The estimate concerns the wider Dutch electricity system rather than a programme of expenditure attributable exclusively to data centres.
Allocating electricity infrastructure investment becomes particularly difficult where developers retain significant discretion over the location of connection applications. Once an application is submitted, network planning may have to take account of a potential large load even though the project remains commercially uncertain.
Ownership and European capacity
Dassen’s parliamentary questions seek information about the proportion of existing Dutch data centre capacity controlled directly or indirectly by American hyperscalers and other US technology companies.
He also asks ministers to identify the ownership and intended uses of capacity currently under construction or in planning. The questions distinguish between physical infrastructure being located in the Netherlands and the availability of the resulting computing resources to European companies and industry.
The submission asks what forms of data centre development provide economic value to the Netherlands and whether additional capacity should support the European Union’s digital ambitions.
Further questions address the percentage of computing resources available to European enterprises, the treatment of older stored information and the government’s approach to encouraging European-controlled infrastructure.
Dassen has also asked whether climate and environmental conditions should influence decisions about data centre locations and permits. His examples include renewable electricity supplies, surplus heat reuse and efficient energy consumption.
These proposals remain parliamentary questions rather than adopted government requirements. Their submission does not establish that new restrictions have been enacted or that existing connection agreements have been cancelled.
Under the current allocation of responsibilities, municipalities assess developments through the applicable environmental planning framework, while network operators manage electricity connections. The two processes are related, but planning permission does not guarantee electrical capacity.
Measures such as batteries, more efficient electrical systems and useful heat recovery may help address certain infrastructure pressures. Their contribution depends on the facility’s operating characteristics and the constraints present on the local electricity network.
DataCentral recently reported on the introduction of Dutch electricity network flexibility auctions. These arrangements seek to make better use of constrained infrastructure, but they do not automatically provide firm connections for every proposed data centre.
The government responses to Dassen’s questions could clarify how much of the 15GW request figure corresponds to mature projects, who controls the resulting infrastructure and whether national policy will place additional conditions on future developments.
Until that information is available, the requested capacity remains a measure of pressure on the connection system rather than evidence that the Netherlands is preparing to operate an additional 15GW of data centres.
