Research pillar
Data Centres
Where UK data centres are being built, what has planning permission, and what the verified project record does and does not show.
Featured analysis
AI Data Centres Make Weak Promises on Waste Heat
Heat reuse works technically, yet in the UK almost none of it has been delivered at scale.
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UK Data Centre Pipeline: What Is Actually Built, Approved or Still Proposed?
A verified, dated snapshot of the projects in our UK data centre tracker — what is built, what is only permitted, and why total capacity cannot honestly be summed.
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How Many Data Centres in the UK Are There Devouring Energy?
What official sources actually say about how many UK data centres exist, how much capacity they have, how much electricity they use today and what NESO projects for 2035.
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Will AI Data Centres Change House Prices in the UK?
AI data centres are reshaping Britain's infrastructure landscape. Explore how they could raise — or lower — UK house prices between 2026 and 2035.
Read analysisFrom the UK AI Energy Index
Every indicator carries its source, the period it covers and a confidence level. Where the evidence is insufficient, the Index says so rather than estimating.
Data-centre evidence
The project register is compiled from planning records and company announcements. It is not a complete national census and does not claim to be.
Tools for this subject
All outputs are modelled estimates based on the inputs you provide, not measured values.
Recent news in this pillar
All news →Plans submitted for 110MW data centre at former Microsoft UK headquarters site in Reading
Read at bbc.com ↗
GridCARE Index identifies potential for significant existing grid capacity optimisation
Read at markets.ft.com ↗
US power demand forecast to reach record highs by 2027, driven by AI data centres, EIA reports
Read at reuters.com ↗
AWS Plans Large Data Centre Campus in Pennsylvania with Dedicated 4.5GW Gas Power
Read at datacenterdynamics.com ↗
Google explores space data centres amidst terrestrial AI energy concerns
Read at thetimes.com ↗
Finland Halts Google Data Centre Work Over Environmental Concerns, Raising Wider Questions
Read at bbc.co.uk ↗
How we research this
We work from primary UK sources — DESNZ, NESO, Ofgem, planning authorities and published company documents. Where a figure is modelled by us it is labelled an AI Energy Intelligence modelled estimate, with its assumptions shown. Where the evidence does not exist, we say so.