Schneider Electric: AI Data Centres Drive Grid Investment

The expansion of hyperscale data centre facilities and AI workloads is placing new pressures on global electricity grids. 

During the Climate Innovation Forum at London Climate Action Week 2026, industry leaders discussed how the energy consumption of these digital infrastructure assets can act as a driver for clean energy deployment. 

Esther Finidori, Chief Sustainability Officer at Schneider Electric, suggested that integrating data architecture into energy networks provides a pathway to manage peak loads efficiently.

“When you think about it, the energy system and the data and telecommunication system are the two things you need that are the backbone of your economy,” said Esther.

“Without electric, energy without data and communications, you have no economy. You will run and operate nothing; from hospitals, schools to businesses. We need to start thinking ahead about the energy system as being the critical backbone for the economy and treat it as such.”

Viewing demand as an opportunity

While data centre power usage faces scrutiny regarding its efficiency, energy leaders argue that this consumption must be reframed. 

The intensive requirements of digital infrastructure provide a clear financial incentive to build low-carbon generation capacity. Operators require stable pricing structures that prevent supply shortages from restricting facility deployment, as high costs caused by constrained grids threaten to slow digitisation.

“We need to consider anything that is an increase of electric demand as good news,” added Esther. “All the tensions arising now on the demand that will be generated by AI factories. Is this a conflict of uptake?

“We should see this as a major opportunity to finally have demand growth that unlocks the investments we need in terms of supply, in terms of grid upgrades, so that we can electrify our energy system.

“We need to anticipate a future where there will be abundant electric and that electric needs to be affordable. If each time we hit a demand-supply crisis, prices hike, we will have a negative loop in the electrification momentum. So we need to start planning now for affordable and available electric as a fuel for the economy.”

Managing grids through data architecture

Expanding physical grid capacity struggles to match the deployment rate of new data centres.

Upgrading digital monitoring systems provides immediate flexibility for operators. Smart grids allow utility companies to model consumption patterns accurately. Instead of focusing purely on total generation, energy providers must use digital tools to shift consumption patterns during periods of high strain.

“What we see as well… is that demand will increase faster than our ability to commission new supply and our ability to retrofit,” Esther continued. “We need to start planning for a grid that can adapt and evolve fast. And the key to that is digitalisation. We need to modernise the grid so that with the data it becomes much easier to manage.

“The issue is not the total of electricity available; it's the peak, it's the maximum load at a point in time. And that's very easy to move, provided that you have the right data architecture to manage the grid and control your peak.

“Massive and rapid digitisation is the way forward so that we can go with the right speed to evolve the grid. Scale and speed are the two answers that we need to anticipate and plan for.”

Financing European power infrastructure

Building the generation capacity required to support widespread electrification involves significant capital expenditure. Hilda Toone, Chair of ARUP, outlined the financial commitment required across the continent to reach climate targets.

“[It] is going to take approximately, for Europe, €5tn (US$5.7tn) of investments prior to 2050,” said Hilda.

“[That’s] €210bn (US$239.6bn) yearly from now on and onwards. However, that number is less than what the EU is paying today on imports of fossil fuel.”

Securing power for data centre operations relies on developing regional energy assets that protect facilities from vulnerable international supply chains.

“We have to think homegrown. It starts there. It starts with wind, solar and other renewables that can be close to us, that we can steer ourselves, in order to have that security, that resilience and that basis for electrification we talk about," says Hilda.