Data centres are asking the grid for more power than Britain can give
Connection requests now exceed spare capacity in the south-east; developers are heading for Scotland and the north
Applications to connect new data centres to the electricity grid in the south-east of England now add up to more than the region's spare capacity, the network operator has said, and some will have to wait until the 2030s.
Developers have responded by heading north, to Scotland and the north-east, where power is cheaper and connection queues shorter. Some are proposing to build their own gas plants on site, a solution that satisfies nobody's climate targets.
The government is weighing whether to prioritise connections for facilities that agree to cut their use at peak demand. The industry has signalled it could accept that if the rules are the same everywhere.
“Every one of these applicants is a serious company with serious money,” said one grid official. “That is exactly why we have to be honest about what the wires can carry.”
