Only 13% of Planned UK Data Centre Capacity Under Construction, Report Finds
ersatzben · x · 2026-10-29
UK Chancellor Healey's Budget pledge to fast-track grid connections for data centres faces a reality check from new Science Works analysis.
- Developers plan to quadruple Britain's data centre capacity by 2030, but only 13% of planned capacity is under construction
- More than two-fifths of proposed capacity has no announced tenants
- Author Will Stone: "planning and grid capacity were known problems; this report shows demand for UK compute might be low too"
- The new Data Centre Covenant offers priority grid access in exchange for commitments on local jobs, investment, and environmental standards; exceptional cases may get temporary on-site generation
- Follows Microsoft's withdrawal from a major UK AI data centre plan; added costs on tenant-less projects could delay build-out further
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