Capacity in Amsterdam in 2026: the permit stop, the grid queue and what is left

Datacenter policy in Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer, 2019 to 2035

On 12 July 2019 Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer took a preparatory decision that stopped new datacenter construction in both municipalities for the time being. The Dutch Data Center Association reported it a week later and gave two reasons: pressure on the power infrastructure and on spatial planning.

Amsterdam replaced the stop with a policy for 2020 to 2030, adopted by the city council on 17 December 2020. It allowed 670 MVA of new datacenter capacity until 2030, at most 67 MVA a year, in four clusters only: Science Park, Amstel III, Schinkelkwartier and the port area (Haven/Havenstad). New sites also had to reach a PUE below 1.2.

In 2025 the city went further. PropertyNL reported on 29 January 2025 that alderman Reinier van Dantzig had moved Amsterdam to "nee, tenzij" (no, unless): no new datacenters, with exceptions only in unusual circumstances. On 18 April 2025 Computable reported the next step from the mayor and aldermen: no new datacenters in Amsterdam through 2035, and no further expansion of existing ones. In the same article alderman Zita Pels pointed to the housing shortage and grid congestion. Liander gives 11 June 2025 as the date the policy took effect. The land-use plan the council adopted (Bestemmingsplan Datacenters) bans new datacenters and expansions above 2,000 m² and 5 MVA, with a "nee, tenzij" route for exceptions, and exempts projects filed before the draft plan went on display on 28 December 2023.

Projects that applied before 28 December 2023, or that were already in advanced talks with the city, can still go ahead (Computable). PropertyNL put those at four pending applications plus expansion projects, together about 350 MW.

Haarlemmermeer, which includes Schiphol-Rijk, has its own policy. It was adopted on 22 October 2020, has been in force since 24 November 2020, and caps datacenter growth at 750 MVA until 2030 across four business parks:

• Schiphol-Rijk: up to 350 MVA.
• Schiphol Trade Park: up to 200 MVA.
• Polanenpark: up to 100 MVA.
• Corneliahoeve: up to 100 MVA.

Grid connections in Noord-Holland

In January 2024 the Dutch Data Center Association argued that the Noord-Holland grid blocks new datacenters whatever the zoning allows (DatacenterDynamics, 27 January 2024). TenneT published its own numbers eleven months later.

On 19 December 2024 TenneT, which runs the high-voltage grid, announced that large parts of Noord-Holland have no extra room for large users for at least the next ten years, and named datacenters and large battery systems among them. The grid in those areas reached its limit in October 2023. New capacity arrives in steps from 2031 and is complete by 2036. TenneT also asked 606 large users (above 1 MW) whether they could move consumption out of peak hours: 66 could.

Liander, the regional network operator, tied the two together on 21 November 2025. Because of the Amsterdam datacenter policy, three substations it had planned in the city are no longer needed.

Its update of 15 January 2026 lengthened waiting times for new and heavier connections in parts of Noord-Holland, among them Noord-Holland Noord and Vijfhuizen, and moved about 120 customers in Oostzaan forward. That update covers connections in general, not datacenters in particular.

So a new hall in Amsterdam needs a permit and a grid connection, and in large parts of the province the connection has a date after 2031.

Vacancy and rent, 2025 to 2026

Two property firms publish an Amsterdam vacancy figure. Both are under 10 percent, and CBRE also tracks what the space costs.

What is left per rack size and density

Policy and grid decide where new halls go. What you can rent this year is space in halls that already have their power connection, and that space is let rack by rack.

A few racks at standard density can still be found somewhere in the metro. The work is knowing which hall has them, from what date, and what density that hall was built for.

High density and many racks at once are harder. A hall built for air-cooled racks does not take a GPU rack because the contract says so; the power and the cooling have to be in the room. A block of racks in one hall draws on the power that hall has, and that is capped by the grid connection of the building. Both need planning and lead time.

At any size, ask for an expansion option when you sign: the right to take more racks or more kW in the same hall, at a price agreed now, for a set period. With new supply capped, the rack next to yours is not guaranteed to be free next year.

How we find space

We check which hall has the kW before we introduce you, so the first call with the operator is about a hall that can take you. The brief goes to a named account manager. The expansion option goes into the first contract, not the second.

The questions to ask about ready dates, options held by other customers and timing are in the campus note, under availability and lead time.

Operators such as Digital Realty and NorthC run partner programmes for referral consultants and agents (PartnerOne and the NorthC Alliance Partner Program). The operator pays our fee. You sign with the operator directly and never pay us.

Sources

• Dutch Data Center Association, news item on the temporary build stop in Amsterdam and Haarlemmermeer, 18 July 2019 (dutchdatacenters.nl).
• Gemeente Amsterdam, Vestigingsbeleid datacenters gemeente Amsterdam 2020-2030, adopted 17 December 2020 (openresearch.amsterdam).
• DLA Piper, Real Estate Gazette, article on data centers in the Netherlands, no publication date (dlapiper.com).
• PropertyNL, report on the nee, tenzij policy for datacenters in Amsterdam, 29 January 2025 (propertynl.com).
• Computable, report on the Amsterdam stop on new datacenters through 2035, 18 April 2025 (computable.nl).
• Gemeente Amsterdam, Bestemmingsplan Datacenters, adopted version, before the council on 11 June 2025 (openresearch.amsterdam).
• Liander, Amsterdam datacenter policy and grid reinforcement, 21 November 2025 (liander.nl).
• Gemeente Haarlemmermeer, datacenter policy, CVDR646404, in force since 24 November 2020 (lokaleregelgeving.overheid.nl).
• DatacenterDynamics, Dutch Data Center Association on the new Amsterdam rules, 27 January 2024 (datacenterdynamics.com).
• TenneT, announcement on grid room in Noord-Holland for the next ten years, 19 December 2024 (tennet.eu).
• Liander, waiting times in Noord-Holland, 15 January 2026 (liander.nl).
• CBRE, Netherlands Real Estate Market Outlook 2025, data centres chapter (cbre.nl).
• JLL, EMEA data centre report, page dated 3 August 2026 (jll.com).
• CBRE, Global Data Center Trends 2025, 24 June 2025 (cbre.com).
• Digital Realty, PartnerOne partner programme page (digitalrealty.com).
• NorthC, Alliance Partner Program page (northcdatacenters.com).