According to E-Control:

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This is what the Google data center in Kronstorf is expected to look like in its first phase of expansion.(Bild: Google)

E-Control sees no problem with the power supply for the planned Google data center in Kronstorf (Upper Austria), even when it reaches its final capacity of 500 megawatts (MW). “As far as we know, there are two expansion stages for the grid connection: 150 and 500 MW. These grid connection options are available in Upper Austria,” said E-Control board member Alfons Haber.

Haber explained that a grid connection assessment is always required to determine whether the capacity can be connected to a specific grid connection point. Supplying renewable energy is also possible, given the existing expansion targets for green electricity. Austria’s goal of producing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030—calculated on an annual basis—is also based on a simulation of consumption trends. “We currently have consumption between 60 and 65 terawatt-hours (TWh). We expect this consumption to rise toward 80 to 90 terawatt-hours by 2030,” said Haber. The scenarios therefore take into account that even large consumers—who could use one terawatt-hour or more—can be supplied with both renewable energy and conventional sources.

Voest’s Electric Blast Furnace as Another Major Consumer
The Google data center is not the only major consumer scheduled to connect to the grid in the coming years. A project of similar scale is Voestalpine’s new electric arc furnace in Linz. According to Voest, this electric arc furnace has a “capacity of well over 100 MW” and, together with the second, slightly smaller electric arc furnace in Donawitz, will consume one terawatt-hour of electricity per year in the first expansion phase alone. For the Google data center, annual electricity consumption is expected to range from 1.5 to 2 terawatt-hours once fully operational. OMV’s planned hydrogen electrolysis plant in Bruck an der Leitha, Lower Austria, is also in this order of magnitude at 140 MW.

2,500 MW Requested for Data Centers
According to the “Salzburger Nachrichten,” the responsible transmission system operator, Austrian Power Grid (APG), has currently received requests totaling 2,500 MW for data centers alone. According to the report, there are binding commitments for 550 MW from two companies—Google and the U.S. provider Cloud HQ. APG CEO Gerhard Christiner says that the additional electricity consumption by Google and others offers an economic benefit because the billions that will be invested in grid expansion and modernization anyway are spread across more customers.

Incidentally, the large pumped-storage power plants in the Alps—some with a connected capacity of over 1,000 MW—are in a league of their own when it comes to grid connection. Their grid connection is designed to be bidirectional, meaning they can feed electricity into the grid (turbine operation) or draw exactly the same amount from the grid as consumers (pumping operation).