Microsoft has once again purchased agricultural land in Middenmeer. The company may build a new data center on the 37.5-hectare plot. It has already applied to the grid operator for a power connection. Since the grid is heavily overloaded in the region, it is unclear whether this connection will be established quickly.
According to data from the Land Registry, reviewed by Dutch news publication NRC, the site is zoned for agricultural use, specifically greenhouse horticulture. No concrete plans have been made yet. A Microsoft spokesperson stated that “it would be nice if we could develop it there someday.” The municipality of Hollands Kroon has not yet received an application for a zoning change.
Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that Microsoft has already applied for an electricity connection. The company states that it intends to “simply join the back of the line, just like everyone else.” That line is long. At the end of 2024, warnings were issued that the North Holland power grid was so overloaded that outages were imminent.
Preparing for new power
To relieve the strain on the grid, TenneT is working on a new 380 kV high-voltage line with two substations. The final location of the northern substation is still unknown, but one of the possible sites is right next to the new plot. This suggests that Microsoft is positioning itself for future capacity. Uncertainty regarding energy consumption remains, as we reported earlier.
Middenmeer is Microsoft’s largest site in the Netherlands, with two hyperscale data centers at Agriport. According to calculations, one of those data centers will consume approximately 1.17 TWh in 2025, well over 1 percent of all electricity in the Netherlands. The power connection there is 78 MW. Last year , Microsoft purchased 50 hectares across from the A7 highway due to increased demand for data storage and AI. The company has also been leasing a new hyperscale data center in Amsterdam since the beginning of this year.