EUROPE
data centre industry , renowned for accessibility and quality . Utilised by international companies , the area is driven by 100 % renewable energy .
“ In 2012 , we said that we were going to invest millions in this new port area . We had this million-euro programme to redevelop land and start conversations with landowners and foreign investors to take a look at Eemshaven . It was still predominantly farmland , but people needed to believe in this ,” Van Tuinen recalls .
“ A few years back , I thought , ‘ we need others to tell our story as well ’. We combined the data port development together with partnerships , who we call ‘ preferred suppliers ’. These were the early movers who believed in the concept .
“ Energy suppliers in general weren ’ t used to structured power purchase agreements based on joint equity or very long terms for instance ,” he continues . “ This may sound funny , but five or six years ago , this wasn ’ t something normal for energy companies . Eneco was a good match with the specific
“ It ’ s no longer big telecom operators or state-owned telecom companies who are investing in connectivity , it ’ s mostly commercially driven . There are big investments coming from the data centre sector ”
ROBERT VAN TUINEN , Manager for Energy- & Dataport
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