Equinix revealed as occupant of £3.9B UK datacenter campus
- Reference: 1761828942
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/10/30/equinix_datacenter_hertfordshire/
- Source link:
The planning application for the project was [1]filed last year by a company called [2]DC01 UK Ltd . The site will feature three facilities with more than 250 MW capacity across 2 million square feet — making it one of Europe's largest datacenter campuses.
Construction should begin around 2027, Equinix told us, with operations starting three years later, aligning with the site's 2029 grid connection date.
[3]
Equinix projects 2,500 construction jobs and 200 permanent positions are to be created. Such massive projects have previously drawn criticism that they offer little in the way of local employment once construction is complete.
[4]
[5]
Perhaps it is for this reason that the firm has engaged consultants KPMG, who estimated the Hertfordshire Campus could add up to £3 billion ($4 billion) to the UK economy during construction, and up to £260 million ($343 million) once operational.
Mindful of concerns regarding datacenters and the environment, Equnix was keen to point out the facilities will use 100 percent renewable energy and dry cooling to minimize water consumption to office-building levels.
[6]Google unmasks itself as mystery hyperscaler behind yet another UK datacenter
[7]UK government overrules local council's datacenter refusal on Green Belt land
[8]Mega UK datacenter greenlit, but we still don't know who's moving in
[9]'Hyperscale customer' to take massive datacenter site near London
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Liz Kendall called Equinix's investment "a huge win for Britain," saying it would power the government's AI ambitions.
The Hertfordshire Campus joins a number of new datacenter sites near Britain's capital, including the newly opened Google facility at [10]Waltham Cross , plus projects at [11]Abbots Langley , East Havering, and one at Woodlands Park, near Iver in Buckinghamshire.
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Equinix this week disclosed its financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, reporting a 5 percent year-on-year rise in revenue to $2.316 billion, and annualized gross bookings of $394 million, up 25 percent. ®
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[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/13/hyperscale_customer_to_take_massive/
[2] https://dc01uk.com/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aQOZqP-r-wH-ONwjRnXIMgAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aQOZqP-r-wH-ONwjRnXIMgAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aQOZqP-r-wH-ONwjRnXIMgAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/16/google_hertfordshire_datacenter/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/uk_overrules_local_council_approve_datacenter/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/24/uk_mega_datacenter_approved/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/13/hyperscale_customer_to_take_massive/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/16/google_hertfordshire_datacenter/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/uk_overrules_local_council_approve_datacenter/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aQOZqP-r-wH-ONwjRnXIMgAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Greenwash hogwash
>will use 100 percent renewable energy
Anyone know where they will be buying their renewable energy from when the sun ain't shinin' & the wind ain't blowin'? From that North American forest burnin' obscenity that is Drax? Or biodigesters which are almost as bad?
Re: Greenwash hogwash
Most likely nuclear energy
Literacy
Liz Kendall calls it a “huge win for Britain,” which tells you everything about the government’s economic literacy. If you think a £3.9 billion capital outlay that leaves the country in permanent debt to a US landlord is a win, you shouldn’t be anywhere near a calculator, let alone the Treasury bench.
The intellectual bankruptcy runs deep: ministers now confuse hosting American cloud racks with “AI leadership,” as if plugging GPUs into someone else’s sockets counts as innovation.
In the end, Britain provides the land, the power, the cooling, the cheerleaders - and gets back a handful of jobs and a warm sense of being “open for business.” Translation: open for plunder.
Re: Literacy
We will read in years to come how Equinix somehow pays less tax than your local shoe shop. All legally, above board.
water usage of office-building levels
"water usage of office-building levels" - so for a 85 ACRE site that's still going to be a heck of a lot of water...
Add to the UK economy....
So where does the money come from?
The local council could introduce £1000 parking charges and add billions to the UK economy