SoftBank Bouchain

SoftBank is planning to construct a data center at the Bouchain power plant site, located outside Valenciennes, France. The site currently hosts an operational 585MW combined cycle power plant and a former 250MW coal plant. SoftBank will develop the data center under a lease-to-build agreement with EDF. The selection process emphasized the project's technical, legal, financial, and environmental soundness, as well as its sustainable integration into the local environment. This initiative is part of SoftBank's broader ambition to develop up to 5GW of data center capacity in France, with an investment of $75 billion across multiple locations. The project aims to utilize France's competitive, sovereign, and low-carbon electricity to support large-scale digital infrastructures and repurpose former industrial sites.