LISBON, July 30 (Reuters) - Electricity demand in Portugal

is expected to grow at a 4.5% compound annual rate over the next

decade, making it one of Europe's fastest-growing power markets,

fuelled by a booming pipeline of data centres, the CEO of

utility EDP said on Thursday.

* The country is emerging as a key European data centre hub,

with more than 2.6 gigawatts under development, led by the

1.2-GW Start Campus project in Sines, backed by Microsoft

AI infrastructure investments, with the pipeline

expected to grow substantially.

* Portugal's appeal for data centre investors is underpinned

by abundant wind, solar and hydropower, providing access to

highly competitive renewable electricity to power

energy-intensive projects.

* CEO Miguel Stilwell d'Andrade said the utility's internal

forecasts point to electricity demand in Portugal growing at a

compound annual rate of 4.5% between 2026 and 2035, among "the

fastest growth rates in Europe", with 60% of the increase driven

by a sizeable pipeline of data centres.

* Portuguese electricity consumption rose 3.5% year-on-year

in the first half to a record 27.2 TWh, according to grid

operator REN.

* That outpaced growth in the European Union, where

electricity demand rose 2% over the same period, according to

the International Energy Agency, which forecasts EU power

consumption will grow at a CAGR of 2.3% through 2030.

* On a call with analysts, the CEO said "Portugal is

positioning itself as an emerging hyperscale data centre hub"

thanks to its low-cost renewable electricity power costs and a

network of transatlantic subsea cables connecting Europe with

the Americas and Africa.

* EDP sees Portugal as "a major growth opportunity across

networks, supply, renewables and potentially integrated

solutions for large customers", he said.

* U.S. Ambassador to Portugal John Arrigo said last week

that Portugal is on track to attract more than $40 billion in

U.S. technology investment by 2031, becoming Europe's largest

hub for American AI infrastructure investment.