Greece’s Copelouzos Group has signed agreements with two Abu Dhabi technology companies to explore artificial intelligence and data-centre infrastructure. The partnership comes as the country’s Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) reports more than 12 GW of data-centre connection applications. The developments highlight how access to available electricity, grid connection rights and digital infrastructure are becoming increasingly linked.
Copelouzos and G42 companies explore an AI facility
The agreements were signed on October 22 with Khazna Data Centers and Core42, both part of the G42 technology group. The companies plan to explore an AI factory in Greece, combining Khazna’s experience in developing physical data-centre facilities with Core42’s cloud infrastructure and AI computing capabilities. The investment’s scope, ownership structure and implementation timetable have yet to be determined.
A large, expandable facility in the Attica region has been reported as a possible first development, but neither a final location nor installed capacity has been confirmed. For Copelouzos, the commercial opportunity would extend beyond diversification into another infrastructure sector. The group has experience developing energy projects, securing infrastructure approvals and structuring large investments with international counterparties.
Those capabilities are increasingly relevant to data centres, where securing electricity capacity can be as difficult as obtaining land or financing. A conventional electricity supplier earns revenue by delivering energy, while a data-centre infrastructure investor may participate in land development, grid-access preparation, electrical infrastructure, facility ownership and long-term capacity leasing. This could combine contracted infrastructure cash flows with exposure to growing demand for computing power.
Such revenues would depend on securing customers, allocating project risks and completing development. The signed memoranda are not final investment commitments. The partnership also arrives as electricity companies move beyond supplying power to take on roles as developers, shareholders and infrastructure partners in the AI economy.
Connection applications exceed 12 GW
IPTO deputy chairman Ioannis Margaris said at an Athens energy conference on October 22 that data-centre connection applications had surpassed 12 GW. Earlier reporting in October put the queue at approximately 9 GW, compared with almost 5 GW in June. The latest figure exceeds earlier industry estimates and points to a rapidly expanding pipeline of prospective projects.
The applications do not represent committed investment or actual electricity consumption. A request to connect establishes interest in securing capacity, but does not necessarily mean that financing, building permits, technology contracts or long-term computing customers are in place. IPTO has said it cannot yet reliably distinguish mature projects from preliminary proposals.
This difference matters for electricity infrastructure planning. If capacity is reserved for projects with no realistic implementation prospects, more advanced investments could face longer development periods and additional costs. Greece is therefore examining changes to the allocation of data-centre connection rights.
A draft regulatory framework would impose stricter financial and technical conditions on developers. It proposes a €200,000 per MW connection guarantee and requires developers to cover grid infrastructure costs attributable to their projects. Under the proposal, a 100 MW application would require a €20 million guarantee if the rule takes effect in its current form.
The draft also proposes that data centres source at least 60% of their annual electricity consumption from renewable sources. The legislation remains under consultation, which is scheduled to close on October 24, and the proposed requirements are not yet binding. The framework would treat access to scarce transmission capacity as a commitment requiring credible financial backing, rather than as an administrative application alone.
Data-centre investment changes financing considerations
Data-centre financing involves risks that differ from those of conventional renewable electricity projects. For a utility-scale renewable project, lenders assess construction, generation forecasts, electricity revenues, grid access and operational performance. A data-centre investment also brings exposure to computing demand, changes in technology, cooling infrastructure, electrical redundancy and customer concentration.
Financing may depend on the credit quality of cloud companies, AI service providers or long-term facility tenants. A key investment milestone could be securing both a credible computing customer and a bankable electricity connection. Connection rights alone are unlikely to support large amounts of project debt without evidence that the development can be completed and commercially occupied.
By contrast, a data-centre project with secured grid capacity, completed electrical engineering, environmental approvals and long-term customer commitments could have a materially different valuation from a speculative proposal. This creates a potential role for energy developers as early-stage infrastructure sponsors, preparing assets for institutional capital. The Copelouzos initiative is an example of energy-sector expertise being applied to a different infrastructure revenue market.
Power procurement and efficiency enter project design
The proposed Greek framework would make electricity procurement part of a data centre’s initial investment structure, rather than a later operating decision. Alongside stricter grid-access conditions, the proposed renewable electricity requirement would lead developers to consider generation availability, consumption profiles, cooling needs and potential flexibility obligations. The electricity system could benefit from demand that responds to operating conditions where suitable commercial agreements and technical arrangements are in place.
Some computing workloads may be scheduled or transferred more flexibly than others, while critical workloads requiring continuous operation cannot simply be interrupted when the electricity system is constrained. This distinction will shape contracts among data-centre operators, electricity suppliers and system operators. European energy-efficiency requirements are also developing, with the European Commission preparing potential minimum performance standards for data centres and a legislative proposal planned for 2027.
Energy performance, water consumption, cooling efficiency and recoverable waste heat are becoming relevant to asset valuation and long-term operating expenditure. Their consideration would sit alongside electricity procurement and grid access in the design of data-centre infrastructure. The proposed requirements remain distinct from standards that have been adopted or entered into force.
Regional competition centres on infrastructure readiness
The Greek developments are relevant to Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, although the countries should not be assumed to face the same level of immediate demand. Jurisdictions competing for AI infrastructure will increasingly be assessed on electricity reliability, available grid capacity, telecommunications connectivity, permitting efficiency and their ability to structure major investments. Serbia’s industrial infrastructure and regional telecommunications connections could support selected projects, while Romania and Bulgaria provide access to EU electricity and digital-services markets.
Montenegro’s potential would depend on finding a commercially credible niche, given the smaller scale of its electricity system and infrastructure. Competition may not centre on which country offers the lowest wholesale electricity price. It may instead depend on which jurisdiction can provide bankable electrical infrastructure, dependable capacity and sufficient development certainty within the timetable required by international technology investors.
The immediate investment opportunity is not the entire 12 GW application queue. It is the smaller pool of projects able to turn requested electricity capacity into financed, contracted and operational digital infrastructure. For utilities and infrastructure developers, the Copelouzos agreements show how electricity-sector capabilities can be applied to participation in this separate revenue market.