Method and coverage
How a public filing becomes a Standby Atlas record, what we cover, and how to report an error.
From filing to record
Our sources are the filings a data-centre project must make before it can be built: opinions of environmental authorities, emission permits for backup generators, planning decisions and appeals, grid concessions and official gazettes, in fourteen countries and in their original languages.
For each project we keep one record. A figure enters the record only if it appears in the document, and the record links to that document. When two documents disagree, we keep the most recent one and flag the difference in the notes; we do not average or smooth figures. Records name companies and authorities, never private individuals.
During each public display period we capture the application file: its facts, with their page, the date and a fingerprint of the file. We sell those facts, never the documents, which belong to their authors.
Every figure is checked against its source document before it is published.
Definitions
- IT load
- Electrical power available to the servers, in MW, as stated by the applicant.
- Grid connection
- Capacity requested from or agreed with the grid operator, in MW (or MVA where stated).
- Backup generators
- Engine-driven generator sets kept on site to supply power if the grid fails, almost always diesel or HVO.
- Thermal input
- Fuel power of all the generators together, in MW. Emission permits use it to set thresholds; it is larger than the electrical output.
- Engine makes named
- Manufacturers named in the filing. Some permits allow several makes; a name in a permit is not a purchase order.
- Stage
- The latest step found in the documents, in our standard English wording. Current counts below.
Coverage, 9 November 2026
Coverage is uneven: the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordics outside Norway and Sweden, Switzerland and parts of Germany are only partly covered so far. Totals are lower bounds.
| Country | Projects | Generator count stated | Thermal input stated | Engine make named |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | 39 | 33 | 24 | 1 |
| Germany | 37 | 36 | 36 | 23 |
| United Kingdom | 24 | 23 | 21 | 5 |
| Ireland | 21 | 16 | 9 | 0 |
| Norway | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| Italy | 13 | 7 | 7 | 3 |
| Sweden | 8 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| Spain | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Poland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Austria | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Stages
- Environmental-authority opinion (MRAe) 28
- Emissions permit granted (BImSchG) 26
- Environmental permit granted 16
- Other filing 12
- Industrial-emissions licence application 10
- Emissions permit application (BImSchG) 8
- Permit variation granted 8
- Environmental permit application 7
- Refused or not admitted 6
- Air-emissions permit application 6
- Planning permission granted on appeal 5
- Public notice: prior and construction authorisation 5
- Permit granted 5
- Application filed 5
- Grid concession granted 4
- Pollution permit granted 4
- Permit amendment filed (BImSchG) 3
- Environmental-authority opinion 3
- Pre-application consultation 2
- EIA screening 2
- Public consultation 2
- Permit extended 1
- EIA scoping notice 1
- Building permit application 1
- Final design compliance review 1
- Rezoning pending 1
Authorities whose documents we cite
- Environment Agency 24
- Regierungspräsidium Darmstadt 22
- Mission régionale d'autorité environnementale (MRAe) 21
- Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) 11
- Ministero dell'Ambiente e della Sicurezza Energetica 10
- UVP-Portal 8
- Statsforvalteren 8
- An Coimisiún Pleanála 7
- NVE (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate) 6
- DRIEAT Île-de-France 5
- Géorisques (French installations register) 4
- Boletín Oficial del Estado 3
- Autorité environnementale (IGEDD) 3
- Mark- och miljödomstolen 3
- Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection (Poland) 3
- Senate of Berlin 2
- Public consultation register (France) 2
- South Dublin County Council 2
- Officiële bekendmakingen 2
- Consultation file published by the operator 2
- Bezirksregierung Köln 2
- Naturvårdsverket 2
- Comune di Rho 2
- Landtag of Lower Austria 2
- bravors.brandenburg.de 1
- Gemeinde Großkrotzenburg 1
- Mulhouse Alsace Agglomération 1
- Kildare County Council 1
- Canton of Schaffhausen 1
- Regierungspräsidium Kassel 1
- Préfecture des Yvelines 1
- Commission nationale du débat public 1
- Commune de Wissous 1
- Borlänge kommun 1
- Lolland Kommune 1
- originjofjn-boc.comunidad.madrid 1
- www.aragon.es 1
- comune.cornaredo.mi.it 1
- siaia.apambiente.pt 1
- www.land-oberoesterreich.gv.at 1
Corrections and citation
Found an error or a missing project? Write to contact@standbyatlas.com with the link to the document. Corrections are made in the next monthly update and noted in the record.
To cite the index: Standby Atlas, European data-centre pipeline, data as of 9 November 2026, standbyatlas.com
. You may quote figures from this site with a link.