Greece plans to charge new data centres an annual levy of €15,000 per MW and require developers to secure renewable electricity from new domestic generation. The measures are part of electricity-market legislation submitted to parliament on October 31, which remains subject to parliamentary approval. They would also require operators to fund grid connections and provide financial guarantees of €200,000 per MW, while covering at least 60% of annual electricity consumption with qualifying new renewable generation.
For a 100 MW data centre, the proposed levy would total €1.5 million a year, in addition to a €20 million grid-connection guarantee and the cost of associated electrical infrastructure. The guarantee is financial security, not an upfront non-refundable fee, but arranging it could tie up liquidity or banking capacity during development. The framework shifts more responsibility for new electricity capacity, network costs and benefits to local communities onto developers, moving beyond conventional grid-access approvals.
Annual levy adds recurring costs tied to capacity
The proposed €15,000/MW annual levy would be based on a data centre’s maximum electricity-consumption capacity and become payable once the facility starts operating. Revenue would benefit residential electricity consumers and municipalities in areas hosting the installations, sharing part of the financial benefits of large digital infrastructure investments with local communities. The charge would recur according to contracted or installed consumption capacity, rather than actual annual electricity use.
A 100 MW facility would pay €1.5 million annually, or €15 million over ten years before any subsequent changes to the regulatory framework. For a 300 MW installation, the annual obligation would be €4.5 million. These sums would be separate from electricity procurement, network tariffs, maintenance, cooling infrastructure and other operating expenditure.
The levy could affect site selection, investment returns and infrastructure-leasing arrangements, particularly where electricity capacity is reserved before a project reaches full commercial utilisation. Data centres already operating and connected to the electricity network would be exempt. For new developments, the recurring charge would form an additional part of long-term financial modelling.
Renewable supply must come from new generation
At least 60% of annual electricity consumption would have to be supplied by renewable energy from new installations connected to Greece’s interconnected electricity system. The requirement is intended to prevent large data-centre projects from meeting their electricity obligations solely through existing renewable generation. Eligible installations would have to meet specified development conditions and be operational no later than the date the data centre is energised.
If the required renewable generation or associated storage infrastructure is not operational, energisation of the data centre could be suspended until the obligations are met. The legislation would also restrict operating subsidies for the share of qualifying generation and storage capacity used to satisfy the data-centre requirements. The 60% obligation would be calculated annually, rather than requiring hourly matching of generation and consumption.
Annual accounting would allow greater flexibility in electricity procurement, while still creating substantial development and contractual obligations. A ministerial decision could adjust the required renewable share under specified conditions, including arrangements involving non-solar renewable technologies or generation combined with storage. Renewable procurement would therefore become part of the initial project structure, rather than an arrangement deferred until after construction.
Connection guarantees and project infrastructure requirements
Developers applying for electricity-grid connection capacity would have to provide a €200,000 per MW financial guarantee. The measure is designed to deter speculative applications that reserve scarce network capacity without adequate evidence of financial or technical maturity. A 200 MW connection would require a €40 million guarantee, while a 300 MW project would require €60 million.
Applicants would also face stricter documentation requirements covering project maturity, financial capacity, land rights and permitting. Developers would bear the full cost of connection works and network reinforcements required exclusively by their facilities. The resulting financing structure would include construction investment, grid-connection costs, credit support for capacity applications and long-term electricity procurement.
Lenders would need to assess those obligations alongside the creditworthiness of intended computing customers and the timetable for filling the facility. A project could secure land and technology partners but still face substantial development risk if its electricity infrastructure is not completed on schedule. A delay in delivering the renewable generation required under the rules could also postpone the investment’s operating revenues.
The draft legislation sets out special treatment for electricity-connection applications exceeding 200 MW. These projects could receive priority assessment if accompanied by qualifying new dispatchable generation or electricity-storage infrastructure that meets specified technical and capacity requirements. The additional infrastructure would have to correspond to at least 80% of the proposed data centre’s maximum electricity-consumption capacity, subject to detailed eligibility rules.
The framework links priority treatment to the additional infrastructure needed to serve large, continuous electricity loads that can place significant demands on transmission networks. Major international investors may need to invest in substantial energy infrastructure alongside the digital facility to obtain priority network access. This could favour developers experienced in financing and coordinating complex electricity and industrial projects, and create opportunities for partnerships among data-centre operators, electricity utilities and infrastructure funds.
Priority assessment would not itself guarantee grid capacity or completion of the required investments. The proposed model could also change how banks assess data-centre projects, which have traditionally been evaluated on construction expenditure, equipment, customer contracts, operational reliability and long-term infrastructure revenues. Lenders would additionally need to consider renewable-generation schedules, grid-connection guarantees, network-reinforcement costs and the risk of delayed energisation.
Financing and electricity access across Southeast Europe
Coordination between electricity and computing infrastructure would become particularly important under the proposed rules. A delay to an associated renewable project could prevent commercial operations from starting even if the data-centre building and computing equipment were complete. Lenders would need integrated technical due diligence covering electricity-load studies, connection agreements, renewable procurement arrangements and construction-interface risks.
Financing agreements may also need clearer provisions on delays, completion tests, contingent liabilities and responsibility for meeting electricity-supply obligations. The framework could consequently favour developers able to secure coordinated financing for digital and electricity infrastructure. The proposed model has wider implications for Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia and Montenegro, where data-centre and digital-infrastructure investment could become increasingly important to electricity-demand growth.
The five countries have different electricity systems, regulatory frameworks and levels of infrastructure readiness. Investors comparing locations would need to look beyond electricity prices and land availability, considering grid-connection certainty, reliable power supply, telecommunications infrastructure, regulatory conditions and the cost of securing electricity capacity. For Serbia, Greece’s proposal provides a reference for assessing large industrial and digital infrastructure investments in a market where grid-access availability and the timing of network development are important investment constraints.
Romania and Bulgaria could compete for regional data-centre investment, supported by EU market access and established industrial infrastructure. Montenegro’s potential would depend on the scale and location of suitable projects and whether additional electricity demand could be supported without disproportionate network investment. The Greek requirements would not apply in these neighbouring markets, but they illustrate how governments may increasingly seek to make new electricity-intensive investments bear a greater share of the infrastructure costs they create.
Greece’s proposed legislation signals a changing relationship between the energy sector and the digital economy. For data-centre developers, reliable electricity access is becoming a strategic infrastructure asset requiring dedicated financing, regulatory approvals and long-term contractual commitments. Electricity companies could pursue opportunities beyond supplying megawatt-hours, including preparing grid-ready sites, developing qualifying supply, building electrical infrastructure and structuring integrated investments with international technology companies.
For banks and infrastructure funds, the most valuable projects may be those able to demonstrate secure electricity access, coordinated generation development and credible long-term computing demand. The proposed annual levy and stricter renewable requirements would add upfront complexity and recurring costs, while potentially helping distinguish financially credible investments from speculative applications for scarce grid capacity. The legislation’s final provisions and implementation rules will determine its full financial consequences.
AI infrastructure investment is becoming increasingly linked to electricity-infrastructure finance, with grid capacity, energy supply and regulatory obligations affecting which projects are commercially bankable. In Southeast Europe, attracting data centres may depend less on offering the lowest electricity price and more on providing dependable, financeable electricity infrastructure within the timetable required by international technology investors.