Data centres and beyond: hydropower for industrial off takers

Data centres, increased AI demand, cloud storage, and other digital infrastructure are driving a rapid, structural increase in electricity demand, with the IEA projecting that global electricity consumption for data centres is projected to double to reach around 945 TWh by 2030 in their Base Case scenario.

But data centres are not alone: a broader set of industrial off‑takers including industrial manufacturing, aluminium smelting, electro‑metallurgy, hydrogen and ammonia production and other large‑scale industrial players are also scaling up their power needs as part of decarbonisation, electrification and supply‑chain strategies.

Hydropower offers firm, low‑carbon, often long‑duration power that can be contracted through long‑term PPAs, making it attractive for power-hungry data centres and industrial off‑takers seeking 24/7 clean energy, price stability, and a reliable backbone for continuous operations. Recent deals, such as Brookfield’s multi‑gigawatt hydro framework agreement with Google, signal a new phase where large technology companies directly source flexible hydropower to power their digital expansion.

This opportunity raises new challenges: grid connection bottlenecks, the need to match variable demand with hydrological capabilities, and ensuring that industrial off‑take does not undermine local supply security or ecological constraints. Goldman Sachs Research estimates the power usage by the global data centre market to reach 84 GW by 2027.

Hydropower’s unique combination of dispatchability, storage potential and system services position it as a critical backbone for powering this digital expansion, particularly when compared with variable renewables and short-duration storage that cannot alone guarantee round‑the‑clock supply for clustered loads.

By strategically pairing data centres and other large off‑takers with modern and upgraded hydropower assets, policymakers, utilities and industry can turn a looming strain on grids into a catalyst for investment in resilient, low‑carbon infrastructure tailored to the needs of industrial off‑takers across sectors.

Session objectives

• Explore how hydropower can support AI and cloud data centres, including co‑location models and long‑term PPAs for 24/7 carbon‑free supply.
• Present real‑world examples of large hydro–tech partnerships, such as Brookfield–Google, and distil lessons on contract design, flexibility and risk allocation.
• Assess system‑level impacts of large, concentrated digital loads and how hydropower can help manage grid stability, congestion and planning challenges.
• Discuss broader industrial off‑taker opportunities and what policy, regulatory and market frameworks are needed to scale hydro‑backed industrial electrification.

‍