Europe's old power plants to get digital makeover driven by AI boom
The deals offer much more than just the sale of unused land as they include opportunities for stable, high-margin revenue, said Simon Stanton, head of global partnerships and transactions at RWE.
'It's more about the long-term relationship, the business relationship you get over time that enables you to de-risk and underwrite your infrastructure investments,' Stanton said.
Most of the EU and Britain's 153 hard coal and lignite plants are set to close by 2038 to meet climate targets, joining the 190 plants closed since 2005, based on data from NGO Beyond Fossil Fuels, which campaigns to accelerate closure of coal-fired power stations.
The economics of data centre deals can be compelling for the utilities, which can negotiate a long-term power supply contract to underwrite future renewable developments.
Tech firms are paying premiums of up to €20 (R416) per MWh for low-carbon power, said Gregory LeBourg, environmental programme director at French data centre operator OVH.
Data centre power demands can be anywhere from a few hundred MW to a GW or more. So the annual 'green premium' — the extra price paid for low-carbon electricity — on top of a base market price could potentially translate into a long-term contract worth hundreds of millions or even billions of euros, based on Reuters' calculations.
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