A data center is a building that houses servers, storage and network equipment, together with everything that keeps them running without interruption: power supply, backup, cooling, security and connectivity. It is the physical infrastructure of the internet, the cloud and artificial intelligence.
THE MAIN TYPES OF DATA CENTERS
Hyperscale: very large sites operated by or for a major cloud provider
Edge: small sites close to users, often from a few hundred kilowatts to a few megawatts
AI: sites designed for very high-density servers, with liquid cooling and capacities of tens to hundreds of megawatts
HOW A DATA CENTER WORKS
Power arrives from the grid through a substation, passes through transformers, then UPS systems and batteries that ensure continuity. Generators take over during outages. Cooling removes the heat produced by servers, by air or liquid. The redundancy of each element determines the site's availability. See transformer lead times.
POWER AND PUE: THREE FIGURES NOT TO CONFUSE
Connection capacity is the ceiling granted by RTE or Enedis; facility power is what the site draws in total; IT load is what powers the servers. PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness) links them: with 100 MW in total and a PUE of 1.25, 80 MW is left for IT. See how to verify a power claim.
THE FRENCH MARKET IN FIGURES
The Paris region holds most of the market: 703 MW in operation and 193 MW under construction (Cushman & Wakefield, May 2026)
At RTE, about 21 GW of data center connection requests waiting (October 2026)
See grid connection by region.
THE REAL BOTTLENECK: THE GRID CONNECTION
A large data center connects to RTE's transmission grid; a smaller site to Enedis's distribution grid. The process runs through an exploratory study, a technical and financial proposal (PTF), then a connection agreement. That timeline, more than construction, often sets the commissioning date. See queue position.
LOCAL ACCEPTANCE AND REGULATION
Water, noise, land, waste heat and new power lines are at the heart of local debates. Regulatory obligations are tightening, and the national debate now also covers sovereignty. See local authorities facing a project and political risk.
DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT?
Landowner: selling or leasing land to a data center
Local authority: a data center in your area
Investor or lender: due diligence and power claim verification
Operator: operations audit
Sources: AEF Info and Hubblo, March 2026; SovereigntyMap, November 2026; Cushman & Wakefield, 11 May 2026; RTE at the Gazelec conference, October 2026, reported by Atlante. Written by GridReadiness, an independent data center consulting and owner's representative firm.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is a data center?
A building that houses servers and IT equipment, with the power supply, backup, cooling and security needed to run without interruption.
How many data centers are there in France?
About 342 in operation in 2026 according to Hubblo, and 423 sites listed by SovereigntyMap. Figures vary with the definition used.