Institut Paris Région Warns AI Data Centres Could Need Up to 8 GW in Île-de-France by 2040
The number of data centres in Île-de-France has grown from about ten to more than 150 in twenty years, and the AI race is pushing new projects onto the regional grid, according to a note from Institut Paris Région reported by ZDNet France. The regional urban-planning and environment agency says the entire Île-de-France energy system is affected by where these sites go, at a time when local opposition to projects is growing alongside official enthusiasm for the investment.
As rack densities climb, the agency estimates data-centre power in the region could reach at least 6.5 GW and as much as 8 GW by 2040, depending on how many projects are built—the equivalent of seven to eight nuclear reactors. It notes that sites typically use between 20 and 40% of the power they are connected for but plan to draw more, which makes sizing the grid a real challenge. Forecasts remain tricky, it adds, because measurement of data-centre consumption is still imperfect.
Efficiency is another weak point. Only five district-heating networks in the region are fed by data-centre waste heat, with six more projects announced, and the region lags on heat recovery. Data centres also strain water supplies and some critical metals, and they occasionally burn fuel—5 GWh in 2022—adding local emissions. The agency maps several zones already at the limit of their capacity, including Plaine Commune, the historic hub, and areas around Paris-Le Bourget and Paris-Charles de Gaulle airports.
What it means in practice
The note gives planners a map for fights already under way in France, such as the protest at Étrechet against Google’s planned first French data centre and Campus IA’s gigawatt-scale ambitions. The agency recommends steering new builds toward southern Essonne, the Saclay plateau and southern Seine-et-Marne, and argues the region can impose its own conditions on hosts, provided it pairs physical data sovereignty with lower environmental impact.
What to watch is whether the regional council turns the mapping into binding siting rules, how RTE prioritises connection requests, and whether new projects commit to supplying waste heat before they are approved.