Power Grid Congestion in Amsterdam: Rotterdam Emerges as Colocation Hub

blog Thursday, July 25, 2024

The discussion about power availability in the Amsterdam area and its impact on colocation data centers has been ongoing for some time. Recent figures from Netbeheer Nederland show that the power availability issue in Amsterdam and its surrounding area is becoming increasingly acute, particularly given the growing energy requirements of AI and HPC applications.

In the Rotterdam/The Hague region, particularly the Westland where Worldstream’s (energy-efficiently built) colocation data centers are located, the issue of power availability does not exist at all. This is evident from the data released by Netbeheer Nederland.

Escalating Power Demand in Amsterdam

New statistics show that in 2023, Amsterdam had 9,396 customers waiting for a connection to the power grid, with a capacity equivalent to 5,116 MW. To put this in perspective, Eindhoven, the fifth-largest city in the Netherlands with about 230,000 inhabitants, manages with a power capacity of 540 MW. This comparison underscores the enormous power demand in the Amsterdam region.

Impact on Data Center Scalability and Business Continuity

If we then zoom in on the energy wholesale consumption in Amsterdam, which includes the data centers in this area, it immediately becomes clear that power capacity for data centers and the colocation clients that have housed their IT systems here is quite limited in this area. It turns out that between 2020 and 2023 there is a significant decline in the number of wholesale connections realized, from 4267 in 2020 to 2929 connections in 2023, which, according to Netbeheer Nederland, is due to grid congestion in the Amsterdam region.

Because of scarce space on the power grid, the City of Amsterdam has even announced a halt to new data center builds six months ago. Only data centers with a direct interest for Amsterdam would still be welcome in the new situation. As a result, the future capacity of data center environments in the Amsterdam region is gradually becoming a question mark, especially when you consider that the City of Amsterdam already put a pause on the construction of new data centers in 2020, heightening concerns about possible future expansion.

In addition to negatively affecting an IT infrastructure’s capacity to grow in a colocation data center, limited power availability also compromises power security and, therefore, an IT infrastructure’s ability to maintain business continuity. Even with generators present, as a colocation client, you would naturally prefer not to worry about power outages at the data center housing your IT infrastructure.

Near-Zero Latency Connections with Amsterdam PoP

Historically, colocation data center operators have favored Amsterdam due to its robust carrier connectivity and extensive network peering options through AMS-IX, one of the world's largest Internet Exchanges. This particular location didn’t pose any issues though when Amsterdam’s power supply wasn’t a factor yet. Now it does. In light of the growth in artificial intelligence and high performance computing and the corresponding need for energy, the situation in Amsterdam is undoubtedly becoming even worse. However, although Amsterdam has been in great demand from colocation clients all over the world, is it truly necessary to co-locate your IT infrastructure in a colocation data center situated here? The answer to that is: No.

Worldstream’s colocation data centers in the Westland, located just under 70 kilometers from the internet hub in Amsterdam South-East, offer near-zero network latency connections to our Amsterdam data center Point-of-Presence (PoP). Therefore, the connectivity consideration does not justify colocating your IT Infrastructure in Amsterdam instead of the Rotterdam/The Hague area. Furthermore, since 2021, the AMS-IX has established a Point-of-Presence in Worldstream’s colocation data centers, providing direct access to ample network peering options.

Power Grid Congestion across The Netherlands

Amsterdam’s power capacity issue is not isolated; power grid congestion affects much of the Netherlands. Netbeheer Nederland has visualized this through a color map indicating regions with power availability issues. While many areas, including parts of the industrial region south of Rotterdam/The Hague, face challenges, the Westland stands out as an exception, showing no network congestion issues.

At Worldstream, we have ample power available for our colocation customers, ensuring both current and future needs are met. Coupled with near-zero latency PoP data center space in Amsterdam, our colocation offerings support enterprise-grade IT infrastructure setups with optimal redundancy.

A Strategic Shift for Colocation

In light of the escalating power grid congestion in Amsterdam, alternative colocation options like Worldstream’s facilities in the Westland offer a viable solution. With robust power availability and near-zero latency connections to key internet hubs, businesses can achieve scalable, secure, and continuous IT operations without the constraints faced in Amsterdam. On top of that Worldstream runs on 100% renewable energy, generated from Dutch wind energy, making our data centers highly sustainable.