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Schneider Electric and Start Campus establish scalable, sustainable foundation for AI and Cloud Infrastructure in Portugal
chneider Electric has partnered with Start Campus, to deliver and operate its 26 Megawatt (MW) SIN01 facility in Sines. The SIN01 facility, operational since Q4’24 and the first building of Start Campus’ 1.2-Gigawatt (GW) campus, leverages a comprehensive suite of solutions from Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure for Data Centres portfolio and Sustainability Services to set new benchmarks for resilient and sustainable workloads for AI, Cloud and GPU-accelerated computing clusters. The facility, built on repurposed industrial land nearby a decommissioned power station, has been designed to deliver advanced energy efficiency. By leveraging intelligent data from Schneider Electric’s connected infrastructure solutions, and utilising the real-time insights enabled via Schneider Electric EcoStruxure software, the company can achieve unparalleled levels of operational efficiency, reliability and scalability at SIN01.
S Building a sustainable, digital future
for Portugal, Europe and beyond Located on Portugal’s southwest coast, SIN01 is now the largest data centre facility ever commissioned in the country, and a pivotal milestone in positioning Portugal at the centre of the global data economy, strengthening its role as a key hub for digital infrastructure in both the European market and globally.
Call for evidence for solar carports ‘Vital’ for UK energy security and cost reduction
F
ollowing the government’s call for evidence for solar on carparks and electric vehicle (EV) charging, renewable energy and solar specialist Damian Baker, Founder and Managing Director of RenEnergy, said: “The government’s decision to open a consultation on the potential for solar car ports to increase the UK’s ability to generate electric power and improve the country’s energy security is welcome.
“We believe the potential is enormous with
RenEnergy’s own ongoing research already identifying 629,900 suitable parking spaces and counting that could provide over 1,456 GWh of solar energy per year.
“It is important, and we intend to make this point in our submission, to view the potential for car ports holistically.
“Commercial premises with land that is already used for car parking, including supermarkets, service stations, golf clubs, train stations, airports and retail parks, can introduce significant savings on energy costs and surplus energy can be sold back to the grid, significantly reduce their operating costs, improve margins and potentially pass on energy savings to consumers in the form of lower prices. “In turn, car ports on commercial premises can provide much-needed large-scale EV charging infrastructure that can boost the uptake of electric vehicles, particularly for homes with no driveway.
“Most importantly, car ports offer the potential for the UK to significantly improve its energy security and reduce its reliance on the already over-stretched electricity grid, with solar carports able to gain planning approval within eight weeks under permitted development with prior approval. “As a leading supplier of carports, RenEnergy is working closely with businesses, the public sector and local authorities to install car ports made in the UK with parts sourced locally and from Europe. We are pleased to see the government has recognised their vital role in providing businesses with better resilience, cost-effective energy supply and a renewable source of power.”
6 ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING • MAY 2025
electricalengieneeringmagazine.co.uk
SIN01 is optimised to meet the high-performance demands of AI, hyperscale cloud, and digital acceleration, leveraging Portugal’s unique position as a low-carbon, high-availability power hub. Today, the country offers one of the most competitive energy environments in Europe, supported by a growing supply of renewable capacity. Its strategic location in Sines also provides direct access to high-capacity international networks and subsea connectivity routes, building a major new digital gateway for Europe, with fibre optic cables terminating from North America, Africa and Latin America (LATAM), while delivering
competitive latencies to all strategic European and global economic centres.
Start Campus, which recently announced
an €8.5 billion investment to accelerate its campus build out in response to AI demand, is one of the only operators in Europe to have fully secured over 1GW of grid power. As a Project of National Interest (PIN), Start Campus has also built strong foundations for data centre and economic growth in Portugal, working with its local community to create up to 1,200 highly skilled, direct jobs, and a further 9,000 indirect roles throughout the project’s duration.
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