The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has pledged to coordinate a city-wide response to the growing demands of data centre development, setting out an ambition for the capital to become a global leader in green data centre innovation.<\/p>\n
Speaking at London Tech Week, Sadiq Khan unveiled a new City Hall report highlighting the scale of demand being placed on the capital\u2019s electricity network by the rapid expansion of data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.<\/p>\n
The report shows that London remains the UK\u2019s largest data centre hub, with 99 facilities providing around 760MW of peak demand capacity, equivalent to the electricity consumption of approximately 750,000 homes.<\/p>\n
However, pressure on the city\u2019s energy infrastructure is expected to increase significantly. According to the report, requests in the grid connection queue already amount to around 10 times the capacity currently used by existing London data centres.<\/p>\n
The report added that data centres have become critical infrastructure, supporting economic activity, public services and digital connectivity, while underpinning London\u2019s position as a centre for technological innovation and AI development.<\/p>\n
To address future growth, Khan has committed to a \u201cwhole-city partnership approach\u201d, bringing together boroughs, energy providers, developers, universities and technology companies. While a data centre development roundtable will be hosted at City Hall in the coming weeks to advance the initiative.<\/p>\n
The mayor is also calling for urgent government action to tackle grid connection delays, arguing that London sits at the centre of the UK\u2019s wider challenge because of its position as Europe\u2019s primary hub for data centre development.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy ambition is clear, I want London to become the world\u2019s leading city for environmentally friendly, low emission, high efficiency data centre development, and AI infrastructure so that our capital remains a leading global hub for digital innovation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe energy requirements of data centres are colossal, so delivering their expansion at pace alongside London\u2019s other infrastructure needs will require more coordinated planning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Khan said he wants London to be a testbed for greener data centre solutions, including improvements in energy efficiency, energy generation, waste heat recovery and smarter infrastructure systems.<\/p>\n
Examples of this approach include the Old Oak and Park Royal (Open) heat network, which is set to use waste heat generated by data centres to provide low-carbon heating to homes and businesses, demonstrating how digital infrastructure can be integrated into wider energy systems.<\/p>\n
The mayor\u2019s ambition is also being incorporated into the next London Plan, due to be published this summer. It will include a dedicated policy on data centres and their environmental impacts, while taking a strategic approach to major energy users to ensure growth aligns with housing and decarbonisation objectives.<\/p>\n
The initiative forms part of the recently launched London Infrastructure Framework, which identifies increasing electricity capacity and network resilience as priorities to support housing delivery, transport decarbonisation and growing digital demand.<\/p>\n
Local authorities and infrastructure providers have welcomed the focus on coordinated planning.<\/p>\n
Ealing Council cabinet member for good growth Monica Hamidi said demand for data centres was increasing in locations such as Park Royal and Southall, where access to power, land and connectivity made development attractive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe support data centres in the right locations, where they deliver real value for residents, meet high standards on sustainability and can support economic growth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
National Grid director of portfolio strategy and development Joe Northwood said the company planned to invest nearly \u00a33bn in London over the next five years to expand and upgrade the electricity network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis investment, alongside the development of more flexible and innovative ways to connect large sources of demand to our network, will help support the Mayor\u2019s ambition for London to be a global leader in sustainable data centre development,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCollaboration will be key. Close coordination between developers, the Greater London Authority and our regulator and industry partners is essential to delivering the critical grid investment London needs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Main image: A data centre in Slough.<\/p>\n