AI data centres in the UK could put net zero targets at risk

The key facts

Four planned data centres are considering on-site gas generation due to grid connection waits of up to 10 years
BBC calculations: 1.3 GW of capacity and up to 4.1 million tonnes of CO2 a year
The government says on-site generation will be 'tightly controlled and time-limited'

Gas instead of waiting in the grid queue

The UK's goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050 could be undermined by the government's deal on AI data centres, according to BBC File on 4 Investigates. In the Budget speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced a 'Data Centre Covenant': operators commit to investing in local communities, creating jobs and protecting water resources in exchange for priority grid connection, and while no connection is available they get the right to build their own on-site generation.

The scale of demand

The regulator Ofgem reports that data centre developers are requesting connections totalling 72 gigawatts, whereas peak electricity demand across the whole country last year was 45 GW. Some developers have been told they will have to wait up to 10 years for grid upgrades. 'These projects are sometimes the size of towns,' noted Nathan McWinney, head of market intelligence at Ofgem.

Four projects on gas

According to BBC calculations, four planned 'hyperscale' data centres considering gas-fired generation, if running continuously at full capacity, would require 1.3 GW and could emit about 4.1 million tonnes of CO2 a year — more than Manchester, Liverpool and Southampton combined. The Acre Slough project west of London allows for gas engines of up to 49.5 MW while waiting at least 10 years for a grid connection; at Wapsey's Wood in Buckinghamshire, the plan involves a 200 MW gas power stationoperating until grid capacity becomes available, which is not expected before 2040. Quest Park is proposing a data centre with a 1 GW load (equivalent to 200,000–250,000 homes) at a quarry next to the planned Universal theme park in Bedfordshire: director David Kohler called the energy mix 'a work in progress' and noted that 1 GW of solar generation would take up an area equal to 15% of Bedfordshire. In Cardiff, developer Curtis Hall is seeking permission for a temporary energy installation with turbines of up to 49.9 MW for up to five years, describing it as a 'worst-case scenario'. All four projects state their intention to connect to the grid as soon as it can supply them.

Criticism and the government's position

Toby Perkins, the Labour chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said that a significant increase in the use of natural gas 'cannot be the future' and that the government 'should not be telling everyone: do whatever you like with energy'. Oliver Hayes of the environmental organisation Global Action Plan warned of local air pollution, noise and water consumption near gas turbines. In response, the government described data centres as 'essential to Britain's economy' — from online banking to NHS services — saying that a pause in development would send jobs and investment abroad. It said the priority is connection to a 'rapidly decarbonising' power system, and that any on-site generation would be 'tightly controlled, time-limited' and permitted only for exceptionally strategic projects. The question remains open as to exactly how the 'exceptional strategic' status of projects will be determined, and whether these restrictions are enough to prevent gas generation from becoming the precedent warned about by Ed Gemmell, an independent councillor in Buckinghamshire.