In Paris, investors and experts caution that the time required to link power-hungry data centers to the electricity grid might offset France's advantage in leveraging its plentiful nuclear energy to attract significant investments in artificial intelligence.
French President Emmanuel Macron, during a global AI summit this week, attributed the country's success in securing over 100 billion euros ($103.26 billion) in investments to its dependable and eco-friendly nuclear power, positioning Europe in pursuit of the U.S., the world leader.
Notably, pledges include a $10 billion supercomputer facility by UK-based Fluidstack, consuming 1 gigawatt (GW) of power, akin to output from one of France's modest nuclear reactors. Brookfield plans to allocate 20 billion euros to AI infrastructure in France, encompassing data centers.
Despite France's significant nuclear energy production through its 57 reactors, concerns arise regarding the pace of data center developments due to licensing and construction processes, potentially constraining swift expansion.
Anj Midha of Andreessen Horowitz observed that Europe's slower construction pace relative to the U.S. poses obstacles to timely data center establishment, underscoring the need for streamlined processes. Meanwhile, in a bid to expedite projects, EDF identified four existing sites for data centers on its land with grid connections ready, offering a total of approximately 2 GW in power capacity, aiming to accelerate project timelines significantly.
EDF's efforts to partner with companies for 1 GW data center projects notwithstanding, protracted timelines loom due to the complexities associated with the expense and public engagement required for the construction of new high-voltage power lines in France.