PARIS (Reuters) -Some of Europe’s ageing coal and gas fired power plants can look forward to a more high-tech future as big tech players, such as Microsoft and Amazon, seek to repurpose them as data centres, with ready-made access to power and water. Companies such as France’s Engie, Germany’s RWE, and Italy’s Enel are looking to benefit from a surge in AI-driven energy demand by converting old power sites into data centres and securing lucrative long-term power supply deals with their operators. The data centre option offers the utilities a way to offset the hefty costs of shutting down ageing power plants as well as potentially underwriting future renewable developments.