The moratorium market: Amsterdam and the energy limits of data centre growth 

Amsterdam has built Europe's greenest data centre market. Then it banned data centres, and yet the Netherlands’ market is still growing. Despite the 2019 moratorium, 2024 hyperscale ban, and a proposed 2035 municipal freeze, investment has remained strong. Amsterdam now reflects a broader European pattern where digital demand and decarbonisation targets are outpacing transmission infrastructure, forcing regulators to respond to physical limits.