New GLA evidence base flags infrastructure pinch points as data-centre demand soars
The Greater London Authority has commissioned a pioneering strategic report on future data centre demand that warns the capital faces an unprecedented pressure on energy, water, land use and digital infrastructure as cloud and AI computing expand.
Consultation documents for the updated London Plan will draw on the study, produced by engineering and design firm Buro Happold, which sets out a method for forecasting data-centre growth and assessing the consequences for the infrastructure that underpins London’s economy.
Among the report’s headline findings is a striking projection for power needs. While current operational data-centre capacity in London stands at about 1GW, connection data indicate demand could grow to between 8GW and 11GW by 2050. The research also points to long waits for grid connections inside the capital, which risk becoming a bottleneck for new facilities.
"Energy is the most critical constraint on future development with grid connection queues averaging 7-13 years in London, compared to 3-7 for other European cities."
That single line will concern planners and developers alike. The report says grid connection queues in London currently average 7-13 years, considerably longer than comparable European cities where queues are typically 3-7 years. Without coordinated action, such delays could slow or alter where and how data centres are located across the city.
Economic weight and the scale of the challenge
London already accounts for around 80% of the UK’s total data-centre capacity and the sector is estimated to generate £4.7 billion in GVA today. The report outlines a potential upside to demand and investment, suggesting there could be a further £44 billion of economic value by 2035 if capacity grows and supporting infrastructure keeps pace.
But the opportunity carries major infrastructure challenges. The study highlights the potential scale of AI-related electricity requirements, citing projections that UK AI compute energy use could rise from about 5 TWh/year today to more than 100 TWh by 2030 — a scale equivalent to roughly a quarter of the UK’s 2021 electricity consumption. The report stresses the need to factor these trajectories into London's long-term planning.
| Metric | Current / Projected |
|---|---|
| Operational data-centre capacity (London) | ~1GW today; 8–11GW by 2050 |
| Grid connection queues (London) | 7–13 years |
| London share of UK capacity | ~80% |
| Sector GVA | £4.7bn today; £44bn potential by 2035 |
What this means for Londoners and policy
The report will sit alongside the London Infrastructure Framework and feed into City Hall’s spatial planning in the London Plan consultation. That gives it real teeth: decisions taken now on where data centres can be sited, how they will be powered and cooled, and how they connect to the wider grid will affect local communities, industrial land use and long-term resilience.
Key policy issues the study raises include:
- The need for co-ordinated energy planning to unblock long grid connection queues and ensure reliability as demand rises.
- Water supply and land-use pressures where cooling and footprint requirements conflict with competing urban uses.
- How to balance the economic benefits of hosting data-centre capacity with environmental targets and local amenity.
For London residents, the debate will centre on where expansion should happen — inside the capital, on its edge, or in other regions — and how environmental impacts are managed. For the industry, investment decisions may hinge on whether the grid and planning systems can be made more responsive.
Buro Happold’s evidence base provides a quantified picture for councillors, planners and developers to weigh those trade-offs. The Greater London Authority will use the work to inform the consultation on the London Plan, and it will also feed into updates to the London Infrastructure Framework, signalling that City Hall intends to take a co-ordinated approach rather than leave the market to manage growth on its own.
As demand for AI and cloud services accelerates, the findings underline a simple message: the data‑centre boom is not just a commercial story, it is an infrastructure challenge for the whole of London — and one that needs strategic planning now if the capital is to reap the economic rewards without compromising energy security and community interests.
