A 400 MW data centre on the former Bouchain thermal power plant site
Announced on 30 May 2026, the project illustrates the reuse of industrial sites already connected to the power grid.
On 30 May 2026, EDF announced that it had selected SoftBank Group as preferred bidder for the design, construction and operation of a 400 MW data centre on the site of the former Bouchain thermal power plant, in the Nord department, under a building lease.
The selection process was based on the technical, legal and financial robustness of the project, on its compatibility with the site's characteristics and environmental requirements, and on its capacity to fit lastingly into its local environment.
The logic of the arrangement is industrial: a former thermal power plant already has a high-capacity electricity connection, suitable land and often access to cooling water. Reusing these sites avoids creating new connection capacity where the grid is already constrained.
EDF highlights France's advantages for hosting next-generation digital infrastructure: competitive, sovereign and low-carbon electricity, and the availability of industrial land benefiting from favourable connection conditions.
The question of connecting data centres has become central: these installations concentrate considerable capacity on small footprints, which makes them a limiting case for grid planning.