As Sam Altman writes in his latest blog post:
“The cost of intelligence should eventually converge to near the cost of electricity.” source
He could not be more right.
What is happening in the EU?
Today, hyperscalers and local data-center operators are scrambling to secure ever more energy to satisfy AI’s soaring appetite. The AI that everyone is trying to implement, test, and that only a few truly master demands a staggering amount of power.
You have probably heard that France hopes to position itself as an AI tech hub. It is pouring money into new data centers and drawing on a growing talent pool. That is no accident: France is an energy powerhouse, thanks to its nuclear plants. For decades it has sold surplus electricity to its European neighbors, and now it is better placed than anyone to supply the one thing those hungry GPUs crave most: electricity.
Renewables are scaling rapidly in countries such as Spain and, indeed, across Europe, yet none comes close to France’s total output. Economic giants like Germany lag painfully on energy independence because decades of shortsighted policy left them dependent on Russian gas. Events in Ukraine have forced a course change, and Germany now sources roughly half of its power from renewables. They are still behind, but they are catching up—progress waits for no one.
The challenge is clear: produce vast amounts of energy with minimal emissions. FAST.
Companies that need to scale quickly will invest where conditions are most favorable now, and in this respect France has the edge.
When President Macron says “Choose France,” it is not just a slogan; it is the logical move.
The factors to keep in mind are the price per watt and the capacity to meet demand. Who else could supply those today without releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere? Very few.
| Country | Retail electricity price (€/kWh, H2 2024) | Grid carbon intensity (g CO₂ e/kWh, 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| France | 0.190 € (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 27 g (nuclear-heavy mix) (en.wikipedia.org) |
| Germany | 0.394 € (39.43 ¢/kWh) (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 363 g (UBA 2024) (de.wikipedia.org) |
| Italy | 0.307 € (Eurostat DC band) (economy-finance.ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 270 g (Ember 2024 EU review) (ember-climate.org) |
| Spain | 0.241 € (PVPC-equivalent average) (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 108 g (wind-solar surge) (ember-climate.org) |
| United Kingdom | 0.319 € (27.03 p/kWh Q3 2025 cap) (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 191 g (DESNZ 2024 provisional) (ember-climate.org) |
| Sweden | 0.094 € (lowest in EU; non-household shown for context) (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 18 g (hydro + nuclear) (ember-climate.org) |
| Netherlands | 0.475 € (H1 2023 peak; still > 0.32 € in 2024) (ec.europa.eu) | ≈ 370 g (gas-centric mix) (ember-climate.org) |
Now let's try to look elsewhere.
The Gulf states are also investing massively in data centers, but for the moment their main energy source is oil, and that is an ecological disaster. Yes, they have set ambitious timelines to switch to renewables, but hosting your workload there today accelerates global warming by quite a lot.
Parting thoughts
Companies need room to grow, we can all understand that, but they should favour countries where the energy produced generates as little emission as possible.
If you are in a position where you can decide or influence the location for your infrastructure, you should seriously consider those factors. For the sake of your children and grand-children.
#AIEconomics #SustainableTech #Hyperscale #TechStrategy