The energy watchdog Ofgem has issued a warning that speculative data centre projects risk delaying viable investments on Britain’s electricity grid. This follows Hounslow Council's approval of a new power-hungry facility near Heathrow Airport.
Hounslow Council has backed plans for a data centre on a 12.2-acre brownfield site at the Haslemere Heathrow Estate. This facility would require an 80MVA high-capacity electricity connection, which could power tens of thousands of homes.
Ofgem is consulting on a new data centre commitment fee and stronger commitment requirements. An Ofgem spokesperson stated that these measures aim to free up capacity and speed up connections for projects that will benefit Britain, as speculative schemes can delay viable projects.
The regulator indicated that simply securing planning permission would not exempt a data centre from these proposed tougher rules. Developers could be required to meet additional milestones and pay an upfront fee to secure their place in the grid queue. These plans are currently under consultation, with no final decision yet made.
The Greater London Authority (GLA) has previously stated that approximately ten times the electricity capacity currently used by existing London data centres has already been requested through the grid connection queue. As of November last year, there were 99 operational data centre sites in London and another 26 in the planning pipeline.
Both the Hounslow and a recently approved Ealing data centre scheme still require a Stage 2 referral to the Mayor of London before they can proceed. Hounslow Council has not confirmed a timeframe for this process.