New homes in London were delayed by 'energy-hungry' data centres

Summary

The rapid growth of "energy-hungry" data centres is delaying new homes in London, just as its housing crisis is "at its worst", a new report has warned.Data centres are giant warehouses full of powerful computers used to run digital services, such as streaming and artificial intelligence.However, they require masses of electricity from the National Grid to keep running.According to the report from the London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee, some new housing developments in west London were temporarily delayed after the electricity grid reached full capacity.The committee's chair James Small-Edwards said energy capacity had become a "real constraint" on housing and economic growth in the city.In 2022, the General London Assembly (GLA) began to investigate delays to housing developments in the boroughs of Ealing, Hillingdon and Hounslow - after it received reports that completed projects were being told they would have to "wait until 2037" to get a connection to the electricity grid.There were fears the boroughs may have to "pause new housing altogether" until the issue was resolved.But the GLA found short-term fixes with the National Grid and energy regulator Ofgem to ensure the "worst-case scenario" did not happen - though several projects were still set back.The strains on parts of London's housing highlighted the need for "longer term planning" around grid capacity in the future, said the report.It added that while data centres made up fewer than 10% of the UK's total electricity demand last year, that was expected to rise up by to 600% between 2025 and 2050.It estimated the energy usage of one typical data centre was similar to that of roughly 100,000 households.Figures shared with BBC News in August showed an estimated 447 data centres currently in the UK, with that number set to rise by about 100 in the next few years.More than half of new data centres are planned in and around London.Andrew Dakers, chief executive of industry body West London Busi...