Microsoft Secures Exclusive Use of Major New Data Center Campus in Amsterdam Amid Grid and Policy Controversy

Microsoft Leases Major New Hyperscale Data Center Campus in Amsterdam

January 26, 2026

Microsoft has secured an exclusive lease for a significant new data center development in Amsterdam, a move that highlights the ongoing tension between the demand for digital infrastructure and local energy and regulatory constraints in the Netherlands. The deal underscores the strategic importance of the Amsterdam region, a major European connectivity hub, for cloud service providers seeking to expand their capacity to serve growing enterprise and consumer demand.

According to reports, Microsoft will be the sole tenant of a new campus in Amsterdam’s Western Port Area, being developed by British firm Pure DC. The facility will consist of three separate 85-meter-high towers. The tech giant confirmed its exclusive tenancy to local media, a detail it stated it does not “normally” disclose publicly. The project’s power consumption is reported to be equivalent to that of all households in the city of Haarlem combined.

The development has proceeded despite a national moratorium on new hyperscale data centers instituted in 2022, which restricts such large, single-tenant facilities to designated zones like Eemshaven and Wieringermeerpolder. The project circumvented the ban through a permitting strategy: it was divided into three separate data center applications, each individually approved by the Province of North Holland. The province noted that, legally, these separate permits did not meet the criteria for a single hyperscale. However, it later acknowledged the project “can be considered as a single data center,” while emphasizing the initial plans predated the 2022 ban.

The approval has sparked criticism from politicians and communities, particularly given Amsterdam's acute power grid capacity shortage. A municipal letter cited 591 customers, including housing projects and public services, on a waiting list for new grid connections. The capacity shortfall, expected to last a decade, threatens to delay the construction of 30,000 homes and affect the building or renovation of around 100 schools and daycare centers. Critics argue the data center’s massive energy use exacerbates these public infrastructure challenges.

Industry observers point to Microsoft's expanding dominance in the Dutch market. Rick Pijpers, former director of Equinix and initiator of the Dutch Sovereign Data Center Cooperative, noted that by the end of 2025, Microsoft had also purchased 50 hectares for expansion in Middenmeer and leases substantial capacity elsewhere. “Everything is going to the Americans, and there is hardly any space or power left for local data centers, even though they are important for Dutch companies and governments,” Pijpers stated. In response, Microsoft said it is committed to integrating data centers responsibly, with high energy efficiency and transparent stakeholder dialogue. A local alderman defended the arrival of several new data centers, including Microsoft's, as “good governance,” noting this campus alone will double the power consumption of all existing data centers in Amsterdam.

Source: techzine