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European Utilities Gain from Data Center Boom, Renewable Push, Clean Energy Reforms, RBC Says

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European utilities are facing a rapidly improving long-term demand outlook, driven by surging data center power consumption, accelerating renewable investment, and government efforts to accelerate clean energy development, RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note on Thursday.

They said S&P Global now forecasts that European data center electricity demand will nearly double to 52.7 gigawatts by 2030, up from 27 GW in 2025, representing a 16% upward revision from its October 2025 forecast of 45.6 GW.

Demand has already increased more than 48% since 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual rate above 14% through the second half of the decade. S&P expects demand to rise 13.4% over the year in 2026, surpassing 30 GW.

The geographical balance of Europe's data center market is also shifting. The UK is projected to overtake Germany as the region's largest market by 2028, with demand reaching 11.1 GW by 2030 from 5.6 GW in 2026. Germany is forecast to grow to 9.5 GW by 2030, while France and Spain are also expected to post strong gains.

RBC said the revised forecasts strengthen the long-term investment case for European utilities, particularly as significant capital spending will be required to expand generation capacity and modernize electricity grids.

In Spain, the government increased support for renewable repowering projects to 512 million euros ($593.53 million) from 292 million euros under the EU-backed NextGenEU recovery program.

The funding is expected to support more than 2 GW of wind farm upgrades, 900 MW of hydroelectric improvements and 1,500 MWh of hybrid storage projects, mobilizing more than 3 billion euros in total investment.

Meanwhile, the Renewables Infrastructure Group, also known as TRIG, is reportedly in advanced discussions to sell its 17.5% stake in Scotland's 588-MW Beatrice offshore wind farm to Macquarie Asset Management.

The stake is valued at roughly 130 million British pounds ($174 million) to 160 million British pounds and forms part of TRIG's broader 400 million British pound asset disposal target aimed at reducing debt and funding share buybacks.

The UK government also proposed new measures to fast-track strategically important clean energy projects by limiting judicial review challenges once parliamentary approval is granted.

In Italy, Snam is advancing the sale of its biomethane unit Bioenery, which carries a book value of about 635 million euros.

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