How Greece is transforming a coal region into a data center hub

PPC (Public Power Corporation) and its plan to transform Western Macedonia are at the center of a Bloomberg report, which presents the Kozani region as one of the most striking examples of Europe’s energy transition — moving away from lignite toward a new economy built around clean energy, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The report focuses on PPC’s strategic decision to repurpose former lignite mining lands and the region’s existing energy infrastructure in order to shape a new development model for Western Macedonia in the post-coal era. Central to this vision is the construction of a large-scale data center with an initial capacity of 300 MW, which PPC plans to complete by the end of 2028. The facility could be gradually expanded to 1 GW by 2031, positioning the region as a major digital infrastructure hub.
The project is part of a broader investment plan valued at approximately €5.8 billion, which includes the development of new energy and technology infrastructure aimed at transforming the former coal-mining region into a clean energy and technology center. As part of this effort, PPC is already in talks with major international hyperscalers — companies that develop and operate large-scale cloud and AI infrastructure.
The project is part of a broader investment plan valued at approximately €5.8 billion, which includes the development of new energy and technology infrastructure aimed at transforming the former coal-mining region into a clean energy and technology center. As part of this effort, PPC is already in talks with major international hyperscalers — companies that develop and operate large-scale cloud and AI infrastructure.
PPC currently employs around 1,250 workers in Western Macedonia. Both the company and local authorities expect that the new investments will go beyond creating direct jobs, serving instead as a foundation for a broader business and services ecosystem built around the region’s new energy and digital infrastructure.
Bloomberg also draws particular attention to the environmental footprint of the new operations. According to PPC, the data center’s water consumption is expected to account for just 0.6% of the amount previously required by lignite activities in the area.
The AI-driven data center boom
PPC’s investment is also part of a rapidly growing global trend: the worldwide expansion of data centers, accelerating in step with the rise of artificial intelligence.
According to figures cited in the report, the number of data centers worldwide has surged from approximately 500,000 in 2021 to around 8 million today, while the sector’s electricity consumption nearly doubled between 2022 and 2026. This development makes energy availability and grid capacity increasingly critical prerequisites for building new facilities, particularly across Europe. Against this international backdrop, PPC is looking to leverage Western Macedonia’s advantages and turn the former coal region into a new energy and technology hub. The plan therefore extends beyond data center development, connecting to a broader set of investments in clean energy and new infrastructure, all aimed at building a new economic ecosystem for the region.
A key element of this transition is also workforce development. To that end, PPC is collaborating with the University of Western Macedonia to create educational programs that will prepare students for the new specializations and demands arising from these investments. This approach echoes — on a different scale and with a different production model — the role that once formed around the lignite industry. Just as coal mining and power generation had spent decades sustaining a broad chain of economic activity across Western Macedonia, PPC is now working to build a new chain around data centers, clean energy, and digital infrastructure.