nLighten has entered into a new renewable energy supply agreement covering all of its data centre locations across France. The three-party arrangement, which begins on January 1st, 2026, marks a shift in how nLighten procures power in the French market and continues the company’s strategy of establishing transparent, traceable renewable energy partnerships across Europe.
Unlike traditional supply contracts, the agreement enables nLighten to monitor its renewable energy consumption with a granularity to track generation on an hourly basis from specific wind assets.
A three-party partnership model
The new arrangement involves Axpo, Switzerland’s largest power producer, a leader in energy trading and the marketing of solar and wind power, and an independent power producer (IPP). Under the agreement, Axpo provides the standard power supply to nLighten’s French facilities, while simultaneously taking responsibility for renewable generation from the IPP’s wind portfolio, which is then assigned to nLighten. This structure allows Axpo to step in when wind generation is insufficient, ensuring continuous power supply to nLighten’s operations, while the IPP provides dedicated renewable generation tracking.
Hourly granularity and asset-level transparency
The partnership provides nLighten with detailed, asset-level insights into its renewable energy supply. Rather than relying solely on public grid composition data or purchasing annual renewable energy certificates after the fact, nLighten can now point to specific wind generation assets producing carbon-free energy for its operations on an hourly basis.
“This partnership represents an opportunity to fundamentally change how we approach energy procurement in France,” said Francesco Marasco, VP of Energy Operations & Sustainability at nLighten. “While France’s grid already benefits from significant carbon free nuclear generation, this agreement puts us in the driving seat in terms of knowing exactly where our renewable energy comes from. It helps us maintain transparency and control over our energy sourcing, protecting us from potential changes in grid composition.”
Innovation in France
The structure of this agreement, while relatively standard in markets like the UK and Germany, represents significant innovation in the French energy market. The three-party model demonstrates how flexible supply structures can coexist with reliable baseload provision.
This model builds on similar agreements nLighten has established across Europe. The company has implemented comparable structures in Spain with Shell and in the UK with Conrad Energy, with each partnership adapted to local market conditions while maintaining the core principle of granular renewable energy tracking.
