Grid congestion, not land or fibre, is the binding constraint for new data center capacity across the BeNeLux. TenneT and the Dutch regional operators, Elia in Belgium and Creos in Luxembourg publish congestion maps and connection queues, but they are not wired into Strata yet. Until they are, each cluster gets a 0 to 100 Connectability Score from what open data does show — how near and how many high-voltage substations, how much capacity is already built nearby, and the distance to an exchange and a cable landing. Zoom to a country or a key zone on the map.
| # | Cluster | Country | DC sites | Connectability | Substations ≤5 km | Nearest substation | To exchange | To landing |
|---|
Connectability Score. Each cluster gets a score from 0 to 100 from four public indicators: distance to the nearest high-voltage substation, how many sit within reach, how much data center capacity is already built nearby, and distance to an exchange or cable landing. The (i) beside the ranking gives the weights and scales. The same score, weights and colour bands are used on every power page, so clusters can be compared across markets.
No headroom is published here yet. TenneT (transmission) and Liander, Enexis and Stedin (distribution) in the Netherlands, Elia in Belgium and Creos in Luxembourg publish grid congestion maps and capacity figures. They are not in Strata yet, so the score rests on proximity, not available capacity. A high score is a reason to ask the operator, not a connection. In a congested grid a substation can be next door and still have no capacity.
Network density. The count of mapped substations within 5 km of a cluster is shown next to the score for context. It inherits OpenStreetMap’s coverage, and most Dutch and Belgian substations carry no voltage tag.
Connectivity. PeeringDB facilities and the exchanges they host, and TeleGeography cable landings. Amsterdam is one of Europe’s largest peering hubs and Brussels and Luxembourg City host their own exchanges, so most clusters sit within a few kilometres of an exchange; the difference between clusters is mainly the grid. Luxembourg has no cable landing, so its connectivity is measured to the exchanges and to the Belgian and Dutch landings.
Generation and climate. Power stations over 5 MW and transmission lines (110 kV and above) come from OpenStreetMap, so they are indicative rather than complete. ERA5 gives cooling degree days and free-cooling hours at each cluster; the BeNeLux climate is cool and humid, so free cooling covers most of the year. Ember gives the generation mix and carbon intensity.
What is missing. TenneT and Dutch regional, Elia (Belgium) and Creos (Luxembourg) congestion and capacity maps, connection queue and waiting times per area, network tariffs (ACM, CREG, ILR), national and municipal data center siting rules, land and plot prices, and water stress (WRI Aqueduct is a hand-prepared download, so the BeNeLux is not in it yet). These are tracked as open requests.