Denmark built Europe’s cleanest grid. AI data centres are overloading it.

Denmark’s grid operator Energinet has paused all new grid connection agreements after a 60-gigawatt queue, nearly nine times the country’s peak demand, overwhelmed the system. AI data centres are the proximate cause: hyperscalers chose Denmark for its clean grid and cool climate, and are now consuming more electricity than the infrastructure was designed to deliver. Denmark is the first Nordic country to confront the tension between building the world’s cleanest grid and attracting the world’s most power-hungry industry.

Denmark generates more than 80 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources. Its wind farms, both onshore and offshore, have made the country a global model for clean energy transition. Its grid operator, Energinet, has spent decades building the infrastructure to support a decarbonised power system. In March, Energinet paused all new grid connection agreements. The reason was not a failure of renewable capacity. It was an ...