London grid crunch delays new housing amid datacenter boom
(2025/12/02)
- Reference: 1764687941
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/12/02/london_datacenter_new_homes/
- Source link:
Access to electricity has become a major source of delay for housebuilding in London, and datacenters are inevitably tied up in this, leading to calls for greater oversight of energy and construction planning so that they keep pace with demand.
A report published on Monday by the London Assembly, the elected body that holds the mayor and their administration to account, highlights the increasing pressure on the UK capital's electricity grid. It says that there is a need for better planning to address both IT infrastructure and new homes, especially as some areas are already overstretched.
It points to the grid reaching full capacity in some areas of West London back in 2022, contributing to delays on new housing developments. This is an area where there is a concentration of datacenters, which were [1]blamed for the problems , as The Register reported at the time.
[2]
The Greater London Authority (GLA) worked with National Grid and regulator Ofgem to secure short-term fixes, and this enabled over 12,000 homes to be connected by early 2025, it says. But the capital's electricity requirements are expected to grow by between 200 and 600 percent in future, calling for long-term strategic planning to avoid further constraints or delays.
[3]
[4]
The matter has a degree of urgency because the UK, like other nations, is seeing a surge in datacenter construction thanks to the current AI development craze. The British government unveiled its [5]AI Opportunities Action Plan at the start of this year, with measures designed to get more bit barns built, and many of these will inevitably pop up near London.
For example, Equinix is to [6]build a large campus near London's M25 orbital motorway at South Mimms, while Google recently [7]opened a facility near the M25 at Waltham Cross, and there are other projects at [8]Abbots Langley , East Havering, and Woodlands Park, near Iver in Buckinghamshire, also near the M25.
[9]
The power required by AI-focused datacenters is growing, sometimes equivalent to tens of thousands of homes or even more. In the US, [10]plans for 5 GW facilities are already in the pipeline, which would draw as much power as millions of homes.
The report, [11]Gridlocked: how planning can ease London's electricity constraints , suggests a number of policy reforms to tackle the issue, including that the government should introduce a separate use class for datacenters, enabling their energy demands to be planned for in a clearer and more coordinated way.
[12]Digital Realty, Equinix battle for €4.5B atNorth acquisition
[13]Britain plots atomic reboot as datacenter demand surges
[14]Brits to help foot power bill for datacenters under government AI plans
[15]Power: The answer to and source of all your AI datacenter problems
Currently, such facilities are often laughably included in [16]Use Class B8 (storage and distribution) because they are viewed as functioning like warehouses.
Other recommendations are that the GLA and London councils should have places on the London Regional Energy Strategic Plan board, and that all boroughs should complete a Local Area Energy Plan to inform requirements.
The GLA should also include a datacenter policy in its next London Plan to enable a more strategic approach to their development, and this should include energy demand assessments for large energy users such as bit barns.
[17]
"If there is to be just one takeaway from this investigation it must be this: grid capacity cannot be an afterthought," wrote James Small-Edwards, chair of the Planning and Regeneration Committee, in the report's foreword.
"We need a proactive, coordinated approach that ensures energy networks are anticipating heightened demand; that local plans integrate energy considerations; and that major energy users are managed strategically." ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/01/london_electricity_supply_barrier_to_housing/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/13/uk_government_ai_plans/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/30/equinix_datacenter_hertfordshire/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/16/google_hertfordshire_datacenter/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/uk_overrules_local_council_approve_datacenter/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/26/us_datacenter_power_crunch/
[11] https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/london-assembly-work/london-assembly-publications/gridlocked-how-planning-can-ease-londons-electricity-constraints
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/28/digital_realty_equinix_atnorth/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/uk_nuclear_power_reform/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/uk_ai_growth_zones/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/15/power_supercomputing/
[16] https://www.rpsgroup.com/insights/consulting-uki/planning-permission-for-data-centres-the-use-class-explained/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
A report published on Monday by the London Assembly, the elected body that holds the mayor and their administration to account, highlights the increasing pressure on the UK capital's electricity grid. It says that there is a need for better planning to address both IT infrastructure and new homes, especially as some areas are already overstretched.
It points to the grid reaching full capacity in some areas of West London back in 2022, contributing to delays on new housing developments. This is an area where there is a concentration of datacenters, which were [1]blamed for the problems , as The Register reported at the time.
[2]
The Greater London Authority (GLA) worked with National Grid and regulator Ofgem to secure short-term fixes, and this enabled over 12,000 homes to be connected by early 2025, it says. But the capital's electricity requirements are expected to grow by between 200 and 600 percent in future, calling for long-term strategic planning to avoid further constraints or delays.
[3]
[4]
The matter has a degree of urgency because the UK, like other nations, is seeing a surge in datacenter construction thanks to the current AI development craze. The British government unveiled its [5]AI Opportunities Action Plan at the start of this year, with measures designed to get more bit barns built, and many of these will inevitably pop up near London.
For example, Equinix is to [6]build a large campus near London's M25 orbital motorway at South Mimms, while Google recently [7]opened a facility near the M25 at Waltham Cross, and there are other projects at [8]Abbots Langley , East Havering, and Woodlands Park, near Iver in Buckinghamshire, also near the M25.
[9]
The power required by AI-focused datacenters is growing, sometimes equivalent to tens of thousands of homes or even more. In the US, [10]plans for 5 GW facilities are already in the pipeline, which would draw as much power as millions of homes.
The report, [11]Gridlocked: how planning can ease London's electricity constraints , suggests a number of policy reforms to tackle the issue, including that the government should introduce a separate use class for datacenters, enabling their energy demands to be planned for in a clearer and more coordinated way.
[12]Digital Realty, Equinix battle for €4.5B atNorth acquisition
[13]Britain plots atomic reboot as datacenter demand surges
[14]Brits to help foot power bill for datacenters under government AI plans
[15]Power: The answer to and source of all your AI datacenter problems
Currently, such facilities are often laughably included in [16]Use Class B8 (storage and distribution) because they are viewed as functioning like warehouses.
Other recommendations are that the GLA and London councils should have places on the London Regional Energy Strategic Plan board, and that all boroughs should complete a Local Area Energy Plan to inform requirements.
The GLA should also include a datacenter policy in its next London Plan to enable a more strategic approach to their development, and this should include energy demand assessments for large energy users such as bit barns.
[17]
"If there is to be just one takeaway from this investigation it must be this: grid capacity cannot be an afterthought," wrote James Small-Edwards, chair of the Planning and Regeneration Committee, in the report's foreword.
"We need a proactive, coordinated approach that ensures energy networks are anticipating heightened demand; that local plans integrate energy considerations; and that major energy users are managed strategically." ®
Get our [18]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/01/london_electricity_supply_barrier_to_housing/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2025/01/13/uk_government_ai_plans/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/10/30/equinix_datacenter_hertfordshire/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/16/google_hertfordshire_datacenter/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/05/16/uk_overrules_local_council_approve_datacenter/
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/26/us_datacenter_power_crunch/
[11] https://www.london.gov.uk/who-we-are/what-london-assembly-does/london-assembly-work/london-assembly-publications/gridlocked-how-planning-can-ease-londons-electricity-constraints
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/28/digital_realty_equinix_atnorth/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/25/uk_nuclear_power_reform/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/18/uk_ai_growth_zones/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2025/11/15/power_supercomputing/
[16] https://www.rpsgroup.com/insights/consulting-uki/planning-permission-for-data-centres-the-use-class-explained/
[17] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_specialfeatures/futureofthedatacenter&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aS8bLIJdPGwVyhRgw0ZOUQAAAAg&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[18] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
ChrisElvidge
Solution: big datacentres must provide their own power (and water) resources OR start paying into the general fund for this i.e. taxes. No more offshoring profits before working out how much tax to pay. Also applies to anyone paying "parent companies" for rights to use their name. After all, they use public money in order to provide healthcare and our paid-for educated staff.
AlnotAI
Energy = growth. No energy = no growth. Energy is an input into everything, from steel to cement to fertiliser. Expensive energy = expensive goods. Cheap energy = cheap goods.
America's fracking boom has resulted in an enormous supply of natural gas at low prices, creating enormous economic prosperity. In the UK, fracking is banned and we've effectively stopped exploiting the North Sea. Meanwhile under New Labour we had a decade of no nuclear plants being built, and our renewable energy boom has been completely stymied by the inability of national grid to connect anything up.
It's all self inflicted.
"If there is to be just one takeaway from this investigation it must be this: grid capacity cannot be an afterthought,"
Finally, after decades of ambitious legislation for reducing CO2 emissions, the message is getting through that action is needed as well.