Summary
- TrendForce added 4,170MW to its global development tracker in October, representing pipeline changes rather than newly commissioned capacity.
- Amazon Web Services accounted for 911MW of the additions across five campuses, including proposed sites in Greece and Germany.
- Approximately 3,111MW of the month's additions were associated with projects planned alongside dedicated power supply, according to the research.
TrendForce has identified proposed hyperscale data centre developments in Greece and Germany among October’s additions to its global project tracker, with access to electricity infrastructure influencing where major new computing campuses are being planned.
The research company recorded 4,170MW of additions to its tracked development pipeline during October 2026. The figure reflects changes in planned capacity supported by new project evidence, rather than 4,170MW of computing infrastructure entering commercial operation.
Amazon Web Services accounted for 911MW of additions across five campuses in four countries. The projects include Agios Dimitrios in Greece and Obertshausen in Germany, alongside developments in the United States and Australia.
The German scheme has a reported initial phase of 20MW, while the Greek development is associated with PPC’s former lignite power station at Agios Dimitrios. All five newly tracked AWS campuses remain at the permitting stage, with first capacity forecast for 2029–2030.
TrendForce reports that 3,111MW, approximately three-quarters of the month’s global additions, relate to campuses planned alongside dedicated power supply. The calculation includes major projects outside Europe and must not be interpreted as the share of European data centres operating independently of electricity networks.
Neither the Greek nor the German proposal has been confirmed as commissioned capacity. The reported megawatt figures represent development expectations that remain exposed to approval, infrastructure, financing, and construction requirements.
Electricity influences site selection
Large data centres require sustained electrical supply, while many European projects depend on network reinforcements or new grid connections that can take years to deliver. Developers therefore have commercial reasons to examine sites where generating assets, substations, or transmission infrastructure already exist.
The Agios Dimitrios proposal reflects interest in reusing locations associated with established electricity generation. A former power station may offer land and existing electrical infrastructure, although converting such a site to support a large electricity consumer requires its own engineering and regulatory assessment.
Electricity generation and electricity consumption place different demands on network infrastructure. Protection arrangements, import capacity, transformer requirements, and the direction of power flows may need to change before a location previously designed to export electricity can support a large continuous load.
Similarly, the existence of a substation does not establish that the necessary import capacity is available. The condition, capacity, ownership, and connection rights of the relevant assets must be assessed for the particular development.
Dedicated on-site generation introduces another route to electricity supply. Such projects may provide capacity before some network upgrades are completed, but their operation can depend on fuel availability, environmental permissions, emissions controls, and agreements governing interaction with the electricity system.
Providing local generation also does not remove the need to consider resilience. A large computing campus requires appropriate arrangements for equipment failures, maintenance, electrical protection, and continuity of supply.
Pipeline figures require qualification
TrendForce distinguishes projects already under construction from developments that are permitted or planned and capacity that remains less certain. The categories provide a way to examine how far operators have progressed towards their stated targets.
A project with a disclosed power figure is not necessarily connected to an electricity network or ready to begin construction. Planning applications, land agreements, and utility discussions can precede the financial and technical commitments required to deliver an operational facility.
Construction contracts provide stronger evidence of physical development, but even a campus under construction may be several stages away from receiving its full electrical allocation and commissioning its computing equipment.
The tracker uses dated triggers including regulatory filings, permits, contracts, and operator disclosures to identify changes in its project database. Its additions therefore reflect newly evidenced plans rather than an independent measurement of capacity already supplied to customers.
TrendForce says its broader tracking system covers nearly 2,000 facilities and uses evidence including satellite imagery, utility records, and supply chain research. These inputs can strengthen project monitoring, although they cannot eliminate uncertainty about future development schedules.
In Germany, the proposed Obertshausen first phase illustrates the difference between an initial building programme and the longer-term potential of a campus. Further development would depend on additional investment and infrastructure requirements beyond that first phase.
The Greek proposal presents another distinct development model, with a former electricity generation location offering the possibility of infrastructure reuse. The technical suitability and final operating arrangements cannot be established from the project’s inclusion in the tracker alone.
Europe’s data centre pipeline continues to expand, but a larger database of proposed capacity is not the same as an equivalent rise in the amount of computing infrastructure available. Delivery will depend on turning project proposals into permitted construction, secured electricity supply, completed technical systems, and commercially operating facilities.
