Greece Builds €5.8 Billion Data Centre on Former Lignite Mine Site Near Kozani
DEI plans 300 megawatts of capacity by 2028, with room to grow to one gigawatt by 2031.
One of the largest data centres in Europe will be built on the site of lignite mines near Kozani, in northern Greece, Bloomberg reported. The investment is planned by Greek national power utility DEI, with an estimated value of €5.8 billion.
The aim is to replace lignite mining in the area with technology facilities and clean energy production. The company plans a 300-megawatt data centre by the end of 2028, alongside green energy projects in the region. By 2031, capacity could grow to one gigawatt.
Talks are already under way with "hyperscalers" — the large international cloud and digital-services providers — to find a company to lease the capacity. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has invested politically in revitalising Kozani, one of the country's poorest regions, since coal-fired power production there ended in 2019.
The project is also tied to the wider restructuring of DEI, in which the Greek state remains the main shareholder but which also raised fresh capital on the stock markets this year. Local residents, meanwhile, complain that the new jobs promised after the end of coal production have yet to fully materialise.
MKNews Hub · World · September 18, 2026