Data Centers, Alessandro Gazzari: After the Rush of Announcements, What Matters is Capacity That Becomes Reality

More than 100 GW of grid connection requests, yet only around 460 MW of commercial capacity currently in operation. This gap was the starting point for Alessandro Gazzari, Head of Transactions, Industrial & Logistics and Data Center Advisory at Cushman & Wakefield, when opening the data center panel at Quo Vadis Italia 2026 in Milan on November 4. He moderated the discussion alongside Luca Beltramino (EdgeConneX), Adam Cookson (Edged Energy), Giancarlo Giacomello (Aruba), and Donata Guerrini (Virtus).
“The question is no longer whether the sector will grow. The question is how much of the announced growth will actually become operational infrastructure,” said Alessandro Gazzari in his opening remarks.
Alessandro referred to research published by the Italian Data Center Association (IDA), of which Cushman & Wakefield is a member. The study distinguishes between three different levels of market activity: grid connection requests submitted to Terna, many of which are speculative; approximately 1.8 GW of qualified projects, including 230 MW under construction, 673 MW in development, and 936 MW in the qualified early-stage pipeline; and capacity already in operation. When the latter two categories are combined, they amount to approximately 2.3 GW of identified commercial capacity.

For investors and those assessing potential sites, Gazzari noted that this distinction carries significant practical implications. A site with available power, a confirmed operator, and an advanced permitting process is far more valuable than land backed solely by a grid connection request.

Demand remains strong. According to IDA, 66% of surveyed operators identified artificial intelligence, GPUs, and high-density computing as the primary drivers of future growth. Gazzari also highlighted the evolving geography of the Italian market: Milan remains the leading hub, Rome is establishing itself as a second major cluster, while Turin, Puglia, Sicily, the Northern Adriatic region, and the Motor Valley are gaining increasing relevance.
“Italy was slower than other European markets in capturing the first wave of cloud adoption. Artificial intelligence opens a new chapter and gives the country an opportunity to close the gap,” emphasized Alessandro Gazzari.
On the regulatory front, he recalled that Article 8 of Decree-Law No. 21/2026, converted into Law No. 49/2026, introduced a single authorization procedure for the development, expansion, and operation of data centers and their related connection infrastructure. In Lombardy, Regional Law No. 11 of June 3, 2026, together with the implementing resolutions issued in August, prioritizes brownfield redevelopment and urban regeneration. Alessandro noted that this creates a more structured and potentially more predictable framework, although its impact on project timelines will need to be tested in practice.

Alessandro challenged the panelists on the issues that will ultimately determine how much of today’s announced pipeline becomes operational capacity. Among the key questions raised were: which obstacle should be addressed first among power availability, permitting, financing, supply chains, talent, and community acceptance; how much demand is genuinely driven by artificial intelligence versus traditional cloud services; and whether Italy can evolve into a multi-city data center market rather than concentrating growth in a few established locations. To conclude, he asked each speaker which widely held market belief today would prove wrong by 2030.

Addressing the relationship between data centers and local communities, where concerns often focus on water consumption, energy use, and land take, Gazzari pointed to the redevelopment of former industrial sites, greater transparency, and tangible local benefits as key elements for success. He also stressed the importance of explaining what data centers actually are: not an end in themselves, but the critical infrastructure that enables cloud services, artificial intelligence, digitalization, and digital sovereignty.
“After the rush of announcements, the market will reward projects that can genuinely be delivered. What will matter is not capacity on paper, but capacity that actually reaches operation. Power availability, permitting, connectivity, and integration with local communities will be the decisive factors. And as an industry, we need to become better at explaining ourselves,” concluded Alessandro Gazzari.