Under what conditions should we allow data centres to be built on our territory?

Introduction

Belgium must welcome data centres, but only within a demanding negotiated framework that turns them into a lever for energy and digital sovereignty, rather than a mere burden on our grid and a drain on our economic land. This argument aims to show why, from this perspective, Belgium, and Wallonia in particular, is one of the most suitable territories in the world for such developments, and to detail the political, energy and industrial conditions that must be imposed.

Three structural observations on AI, electricity and Wallonia

The digital sector is a heavy industry

First key point: the digital transition and AI are not immaterial phenomena. They rely on highly physical infrastructure: cables, fibre, servers, cooling systems, transformers, data centres, which increasingly resembles a “digital steel industry”. Data farms, kilometres of cabling and high-density computing centres require steel, concrete, advanced materials, rare earths and highly technological components, which will themselves need to be recycled.

Hosting this infrastructure on our territory means capturing a significant share of the value chain of tomorrow's economy: design, construction, maintenance, digital services, R&D, sovereign cloud, AI applied to industry and services. It means accepting that growth will not come solely from applications and software, but also from heavy, capital-intensive infrastructure around which industrial ecosystems will be built.

AI: tomorrow's “brains”, but extremely energy-hungry

Second point: what mechanisation was to “muscles” in the 19th century, AI will be to “brains” in the 21st century. Energy multiplied the physical strength available to each worker; AI will multiply the cognitive power available to each business, each administration, each researcher. But this computing power is not free: it requires enormous amounts of electricity.

The power density of the new servers (GPUs, ASICs for machine learning, etc.) and the exponential growth in demand placed on AI systems are translating into an explosion in the electricity consumption required for data centres. Even with efficiency gains per request (leaner software, more powerful hardware), the mass scale-up of usage means that total electricity demand linked to digitalisation and AI will remain sharply on the rise over the coming decades.

In concrete terms, projections for Belgium already point to additional data centre electricity consumption of several TWh by 2035, with a range that could reach around 17 to 34 TWh by 2050 depending on the scale of AI growth, potentially a 20 to 40% increase on our current national electricity consumption, which stands at around 80 to 85 TWh. For Wallonia, which consumed around 22 TWh of electricity in 2023, the share taken up by AI and digitalisation would thus become significant.

Strong pressure to develop in Wallonia

Third observation: demand for data centre development in Belgium and Wallonia is already strong and set to intensify. Our country sits at the crossroads of major European flows, with excellent connectivity, a temperate climate favourable to cooling, access to an already largely decarbonised electricity mix, and a stable European legal framework for data and AI.

This momentum is not starting from scratch: Belgium already hosts a significant base of digital infrastructure.

According to the Belgian Digital Infrastructure Association, the country currently has just under 50 colocation data centres, representing around 93 MW of capacity, alongside a much wider set of private centres run by companies and public bodies; more than 2,000 Belgian organisations reportedly still operate part of their own IT infrastructure on-site. The only fully established hyperscaler on our territory is Google in Saint-Ghislain, whose first European site opened in 2010 and has since been expanded several times; Google also announced a new campus in Farciennes in 2024, while Microsoft has been developing three Azure centres around Brussels since 2023. The Belgian market has also recently seen several openings or extensions, notably in Zellik in 2024, in Diegem in 2026, as well as numerous ongoing projects in Zaventem, Ternat, Aalst, Kortrijk and Neder-Over-Heembeek. In energy terms, data centres already consumed around 3.2 TWh of electricity in Belgium in 2023, around 4% of national consumption, showing that the phenomenon is already significant and needs to be organised politically rather than simply endured.

In practice, estimates point to the absorption of around 12 TWh of additional electricity for data centres by 2035, of which around 10 TWh in Wallonia. For the region, this would translate into specific data centre consumption of around 11 TWh by 2050, requiring capacities of several hundred megawatts and cumulative areas of around 1,000 hectares, based on units of 50 MW per 20 hectares.

Faced with this momentum, the alternative is simple: either we allow developments to happen piecemeal, disconnected from our energy, industrial and spatial planning policy; or we define a clear strategy, with non-negotiable conditions, to turn this pressure into a competitive advantage and an instrument of sovereignty.

3. Why is Belgium one of the best places in the world for data centres? Geographical and connectivity advantages

Belgium is located at the heart of Western Europe, just a few hours by road or rail from Paris, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Luxembourg or Cologne. This geographical centrality translates into digital centrality: numerous fibre backbones, international cables and interconnection nodes cross or serve the country.

National connectivity is of a very high standard: widespread fibre rollout in major conurbations, several major internet exchange points, 5G coverage in urban areas, well-developed telecom operator networks. This enables data centres based in Belgium to offer low latency to major European markets, a decisive advantage for cloud services, financial services, online gaming, video platforms and AI.

In addition, the institutional density of Brussels (European institutions, NATO, international organisations, corporate headquarters, NGOs) generates particular demand for secure, redundant and resilient digital services, giving Belgian data centres strategic importance beyond the domestic market alone.

Suitable electricity and energy infrastructure

In terms of energy, Belgium has a robust electricity system, interconnected with neighbouring countries and managed by a single, experienced transmission grid operator. The country already has several large power plants (nuclear, CCGT, etc.), strong development of offshore and onshore wind power, a growing photovoltaic fleet, and emerging projects in SMRs and flexible dispatchable units. This diversity is an asset for combining long-term contracts (PPAs) with baseload and flexibility needs.

Above all, our electricity system is already familiar with managing heavy industrial loads (chemicals, steel, metallurgy, industrial clusters), which makes it easier to integrate new large consumers such as data centres. Where other countries must build networks and capacity from scratch, Belgium has a foundation to build on, provided it is properly planned.

Stable and protective legal and regulatory framework

Belgium benefits from the European legal framework for data protection (GDPR), regulation of digital services (DSA, DMA), the Data Act and, in future, AI regulation. For players handling sensitive data (health, finance, the public sector, defence), belonging to the European legal area is a guarantee of security and predictability.

Belgian operators highlight this legal sovereignty: data hosted under Belgian and European law, clear responsibilities, enhanced protection of privacy and intellectual property. This positions Belgium as a preferred location for data centres serving highly critical services, including for national and European administrations.

In parallel, Belgian and regional authorities have begun to specifically regulate data centres: energy efficiency requirements (PUE), recommendations on recovering waste heat, integration into energy network development planning, and the establishment of dedicated services and technical guides to facilitate connections without compromising grid security.

An industrial, technological and skills ecosystem

Belgium has a highly developed ecosystem of engineering, construction and IT services, with companies specialising in the design, construction and operation of high-performance data centres. Tens of thousands of square metres of data centre space are already managed on our territory, with cutting-edge expertise in cooling, security, redundancy, cybersecurity, monitoring and energy management.

This is complemented by top-level universities and research centres, a network of start-ups and scale-ups in digital technology and AI, and a highly skilled workforce. This combination not only makes it possible to build data centres, but above all to turn their computing power into concrete innovations: AI solutions applied to industry, health, transport and energy; cybersecurity services; sovereign public cloud; and so on.

Finally, the country already has practical experience of jointly regulating energy, digital and environmental issues (climate requirements, zoning, impact assessments), which makes it possible to move towards a more sophisticated “deal” than the simple issuing of permits.

4. Objections to data centre development

“They consume too much electricity”

First objection: data centres are seen as energy “giants” that would siphon off a growing share of available electricity, to the detriment of the electrification of heating, industry and mobility. According to various known projections, their growth could eventually account for between 10% and 40% of Belgian electricity consumption, increasing the risk of shortages and price rises.

From this perspective, each new project is seen as a direct competitor for other uses, within an already strained electricity system requiring heavy investment in the grid and new production capacity.

“They take up too much land that could be used for other projects”

Second objection: the land-use impact. Data centres, especially large hyperscale campuses, take up significant areas, often tens of hectares, in industrial or semi-urban zones where land is scarce. There are fears that they will “monopolise” land that could be devoted to other industrial, logistics or residential activities, or to green spaces.

The dominant image is that of grey, closed, largely lifeless boxes occupying strategic land that could otherwise host other projects deemed more “productive” or more politically visible.

“They create few direct jobs”

Third objection: low employment intensity. A data centre represents colossal investment, several hundred million, sometimes more than a billion euros, for, ultimately, only a few dozen to just over a hundred permanent direct jobs on site.

Compared to a traditional factory, a hospital or a large logistics platform, the investment-to-direct-jobs ratio appears unfavourable, fuelling the idea that these projects do not sufficiently benefit the local economy and job market.

5. Responses: turning objections into opportunities

Response to the energy objection: turning data centres into investors in production

In response to the objection that “they consume too much electricity”, the central political answer is to change the status of the data centre within our electricity system: it must not be an additional net consumer, but rather the trigger for the installation of new production capacity.

In practice, this means making every significant development conditional on the operator's obligation to finance (alone or through a partnership with an energy company) a decarbonised electricity production unit, sized to fully cover its consumption and feed a surplus into the grid. In this way:

• The data centre's consumption is covered by dedicated capacity that it finances itself, rather than by the existing generation fleet.
• The surplus electricity feeds the rest of the system, improving overall system adequacy instead of undermining it.
• The investment, driven by the private operator, accelerates the development of low-carbon capacity (SMRs, high-efficiency hydrogen-compatible gas plants, renewable parks with storage) and, more broadly, the electrification of usage.

In other words, every data centre becomes a compulsory co-investor in our generation fleet. From the system's perspective, it stops being “yet another problem” and becomes a lever to accelerate our electrification.

Response to the land-use objection: repurposing brownfields and structuring ecosystems

To the objection “they take up too much land”, the answer lies in site selection and ecosystem thinking.

First of all, priority should be given to industrial brownfields unsuitable for large-scale reindustrialisation, to underused or to-be-repurposed sites, where the presence of large technical buildings does not replace other, more urgent uses but instead brings declining areas back to life. In such contexts, the data centre does not compete with a concrete alternative project: it is often the first link that makes the site attractive again.

Next, the data centre should systematically be thought of as part of a broader campus, combining:

• One or more energy production units.
• Innovative companies that consume intensive computing power.
• R&D activities linked to AI, digital technology and Industry 4.0.
• Infrastructure for recovering waste heat (heat networks).

The site should be chosen based on grid access, coupled with a local production unit able to serve local uses.

With this logic, the land occupied by the data centre is the foundation of an industrial and digital ecosystem. It is no longer a land-use “black hole”, but a catalyst that attracts other activities and justifies additional investment (energy, networks, mobility).

Response to the employment objection: looking at the ecosystem and computing power

To the objection that “they create few direct jobs”, the answer is to broaden our view beyond the internal positions within the building itself. It is likely that if power stations had been judged at the time solely on the number of direct jobs they created, we would never have known that electricity would become the foundation of the 2nd industrial revolution and would play such a central role in our modern societies.

On one hand, the construction phase mobilises, over several years, hundreds or even more than a thousand jobs in construction, electricity, networks, engineering and security, with knock-on effects for local businesses. These jobs are not permanent, but they follow one another and persist when several phases or sites are developed.

On the other hand, operating a data centre supports a range of services: specialised maintenance, telecoms, cybersecurity, infrastructure management, development of cloud and AI solutions, integration for industrial and public clients. It is these ecosystem professions that together represent several hundred highly skilled jobs when a cluster develops.

Finally, a modern data centre above all offers millions of “virtual brains”: massive computing power enabling AI to be deployed in industry, services, healthcare and energy. The real employment challenge is not so much the number of badges at the building entrance as the effect of this computing power on the competitiveness of our productive fabric. By strengthening our ability to produce more, better and with greater added value, this infrastructure supports employment across the whole economy in the medium term.

6. Responses: turning objections into opportunities

Pillar 1: energy, obligation for decarbonised local production

• Make any authorisation for a significant installation conditional on the creation of new, decarbonised and dispatchable electricity generation capacity, financed by the data centre operator together with an energy partner.
• Require that this capacity at least covers the data centre's consumption and injects a defined surplus into the grid, contributing to overall system adequacy.
• Favour, depending on the site, SMRs, the extension of existing plants, high-efficiency hydrogen-compatible gas turbines, or renewable capacity plus storage, consistent with the Belgian electricity mix strategy.
• Regulate the issue of semi-closed networks: favour integration into the public grid and, in the case of partially closed circuits, provide for a “prosumer”-type contribution to finance the rest of the network.

Pillar 2: sovereignty, drawing rights on computing power and data control

• Negotiate a public drawing right on part of the computing capacity of data centres located on our soil, for the benefit of the State, the Regions, universities and projects of general interest (health, climate, mobility, security, industrial innovation).
• Include data localisation clauses for public, sensitive or strategic data: primary or secondary storage on Belgian or European territory, under European jurisdiction, with high cybersecurity standards.
• Align these requirements with European instruments (GDPR, Data Act, AI Act), taking care not to create legal obstacles, while making full use of the leeway granted to Member States for their critical infrastructure.
• Link these data centres to research, training and technology transfer programmes, so that the computing capacity nourishes the local academic and economic ecosystem.

Pillar 3: territory, industrial clusters and streamlined procedures

• Identify several existing or to-be-repurposed industrial sites (in Wallonia and elsewhere) to host “campuses” combining data centres, electricity generation units and innovative companies.
• Radically accelerate permitting procedures for these projects, through a single grid-energy-planning contact point and full digitisation of procedures, with capped deadlines.
• Prioritise projects that contribute most to decarbonisation (coupling with low-carbon capacity), digital sovereignty (computing capacity for public authorities) and the creation of local ecosystems.
• Set up monitoring indicators: average connection time, additional electricity capacity created, share of waste heat recovered, carbon intensity of electricity consumed, computing capacity made available to public actors.

7. Consistency with a resolute supply-side policy

This “data centres under conditions” strategy is part of a resolute supply-side policy: attractive taxation, a stable regulatory framework, a “business-friendly” administration, competitive energy, efficient logistics, available industrial land. It is the combination of all these elements that will make Belgium one of the best places in the world to host cutting-edge digital infrastructure, but within a framework that serves our interests.

AI and digital technology are not optional: they will transform industrial production, services, healthcare, education and defence. Either we import our computing capacity and become dependent on infrastructure controlled from abroad, or we create, on our own soil, the conditions for abundant, decarbonised, shared and regulated computing power. In the latter case, data centres are no longer a problem to be endured, but a tool to be wielded politically.