Data centers are increasingly at the center of public debate, particularly because of electricity consumption and pressure on power grids and local infrastructure. While these concerns are legitimate, electricity demand is only one dimension of how modern digital infrastructure interacts with energy systems. A growing number of projects show that data centers can contribute to energy systems by supporting renewable energy deployment, grid stability and the reuse of surplus heat.
Data centers form the backbone of modern digital infrastructure, supporting everything from cloud services and AI development to healthcare, public administration and financial services.
While the computing needed for these societal functions requires growing amounts of power, data centers are increasingly part of the solution.
Around the world, projects are emerging that accelerate renewable energy deployment, support electricity grid stability, and reuse surplus heat. In some cases, local energy solutions are being developed that allow projects to move forward while grid infrastructure is expanded.
When digital infrastructure and energy systems are planned together, data centers can contribute not only to the digital economy, but also to more efficient and resilient energy systems.
In Denmark, where district heating networks and renewable energy already play a major role in the energy system, these models offer particularly strong opportunities for shaping both the digital and energy transition.
How data centers can support energy systems
Across Denmark and Europe, a number of projects show how data centers can be active partners in the energy system, pointing to a broader shift in how digital infrastructure interacts with energy systems.
One important effect is that large data centers can accelerate investment in new energy infrastructure. Their stable and long-term electricity demand can help finance new renewable energy projects.
Data centers can also contribute directly to electrical system stability. The technical systems inside data centers, including batteries and backup power systems, can support the stability of electricity grids.
In regions where grid connections are delayed, localized energy solutions such as microgrids or “bring-your-own-energy” models are increasingly being explored. These systems can allow data centers to move forward while grid infrastructure is expanded. In a Nordic context, such solutions can increasingly rely on low-carbon energy sources, such as renewable electricity, energy storage and green gas supplied through existing gas infrastructure.
Surplus heat from data centers can become a resource rather than waste.
In regions with district heating networks or nearby industries, this heat can supply homes and businesses while reducing overall energy consumption.
The most advanced projects show the benefits of planning digital infrastructure and energy systems together. When data centers are integrated into industrial clusters, energy parks or district heating networks from the start, they can contribute to local economic development and more efficient energy use.
Digital infrastructure is central to economic growth and technological development. The way data centers are integrated into energy systems will play an important role in shaping both the digital transition and the energy transition.
These developments are visible in a number of emerging models for integrating digital infrastructure into energy systems. The following examples illustrate how these different approaches are already being implemented in practice. While each project reflects local conditions, they demonstrate several emerging models for integrating digital infrastructure with renewable energy, electricity grids and local energy systems.
Examples of energy system integration:
Designing AI infrastructure as part of the energy system
CA Group and GreenLab (Skive, Denmark)
CA Group has signed an agreement to establish a flexible AI data center of up to 100 MW IT load at GreenLab’s industrial park in Skive.
The project is designed around sector coupling, integrating large-scale digital infrastructure with renewable energy, storage and nearby industrial energy users. The facility will connect to GreenLab’s local energy system, which combines wind and solar production with storage and flexible demand.
Backup systems combining batteries and sustainable fuel generation can be used as a flexibility asset when not required for backup, helping balance electricity supply and demand in the local and national grid.
Source: GreenLab – “Flexible AI data center to be located in GreenLab” (20 January 2026) https://www.greenlab.dk/knowledge/renowned-swedish-company-invests-billions-in-in-ai-data-center-in-greenlab/
Supporting grid stability with data center infrastructure
Conapto (Stockholm, Sweden)
In Stockholm, data center operator Conapto has upgraded its infrastructure to participate in Sweden’s Fast Frequency Reserve market.
Working with Vertiv, Coromatic, and energy platform provider Fever, Conapto has configured its UPS (uninterruptible power supply) systems and lithium-ion batteries so they can respond automatically to small fluctuations in grid frequency, helping stabilize the electricity system.This enables the data center to deliver frequency stabilization services while maintaining its primary role in protecting critical IT systems.
The case illustrates how infrastructure already present in many data centers, such as backup batteries, can also support the stability of electricity systems with high shares of renewable energy.
Source: Vertiv case study – “Conapto Dynamic Grid Support”
Reusing data center heat in district heating systems
(Odense and Høje-Taastrup - Denmark)
Several Danish projects demonstrate how surplus heat from data centers can be reused in district heating systems.
In Odense, heat from a large data center is captured and upgraded through heat pumps before being supplied to the local district heating network. The system can provide heating equivalent to around 6–7,000 households.
A similar approach is being developed in Høje-Taastrup, where multiple data centers are working with local utilities to supply surplus heat to the regional district heating network. A new project involving a Microsoft data center is expected to deliver enough heat to warm around 6,000 homes once fully operational.
Until recently, regulation limited the use of surplus heat from data centers in Denmark, with a price cap on surplus heat making several projects financially unviable. The removal of this price cap in July 2025 has improved the conditions for heat reuse projects and is expected to enable additional integration between data centers and district heating systems.
Sources: Fjernvarme Fyn, VEKS, and Danish district heating industry reporting
Accelerating clean energy deployment at grid scale
Google and Xcel Energy (Minnesota, United States)
In Pine Island, Minnesota, Xcel Energy has signed an agreement to supply power to a new Google data center. Under the arrangement, Google will cover the costs associated with its electricity service and related infrastructure.
The agreement includes adding 1,900 MW of new clean energy capacity to the grid through the Clean Energy Accelerator Charge structure. The new capacity consists of 1,400 MW of wind, 200 MW of solar and 300 MW of long-duration battery storage.
The storage system, developed by Form Energy, will provide approximately 30 GWh of energy storage with a duration of up to 100 hours, designed to help balance renewable generation over longer periods.
Google will also contribute $50 million to Xcel Energy’s Capacity*Connect program, which deploys distributed battery resources across the grid to strengthen reliability.
Source: Xcel Energy – “Xcel Energy to power new Google data center in Minnesota” (24 February 2026) https://newsroom.xcelenergy.com/news/xcel-energy-to-power-new-google-data-center-in-minnesota
Circular energy for local industry
Green Mountain and Hima Seafood (Norway)
In Norway, the data center company Green Mountain has partnered with aquaculture company Hima Seafood to reuse surplus heat from a data center to warm water in a trout farming facility.
The system transfers heat from the data center’s cooling infrastructure to fish tanks before returning the cooled water to the data center’s cooling cycle. The first phase of the project operates at around 1.75 megawatts of heat reuse capacity and may expand further in the future.
This collaboration demonstrates how data centers can support local industries while improving energy efficiency.
Source: Green Mountain and Hima Seafood project information
Microgrids as a bridging energy solution
AVK and Pure Data Centres (Dublin, Ireland)
In Dublin, Pure Data Centres and power solutions provider AVK have developed one of Europe’s first data centers operating on a dedicated microgrid. The facility, designed for cloud and AI workloads, has a planned capacity of around 110 megawatts and represents an investment of roughly €1 billion.
A microgrid is a local energy system that can generate, store and distribute electricity independently of the main grid.
In this case, the system allows the project to move forward despite long grid connection timelines in Ireland. The operators have indicated that the microgrid could later support the national grid once a connection becomes available.
The project illustrates how localized energy systems can serve as a transitional solution while electricity infrastructure expands to meet growing demand from AI and digital services.
Source: CNBC – “Europe switches on its first microgrid-connected data center” (March 2026)
The interaction between data centers and energy systems will become increasingly important. The examples above show that when digital infrastructure and energy systems are planned together, data centers can contribute to both digital development and more flexible energy systems.
Contact us
Christine Kjær Jacobsen
Head of Marketing & Communication
chja@datacenterindustrien.dk
+45 2975 2932