Microsoft has reportedly pulled out of Nscale's £2bn AI data centre near London, after the site was reportedly told grid power would not come until the 2030s.
We looked at why, using the data we can source. Brimsdown, the substation it depends on, came within 10% of its peak for just 40 hours last year. With a battery to cover those hours, and a connection agreement that took account of it, we estimate the site could connect around 2031, years sooner. No agreement like that is on offer yet; Ofgem expects to say this autumn which terms are available.
But that data only goes so far. Developers can't see the queue, what each project waits on, or when the limits really bind. Without that view they commit capital blind, and projects like this will keep being dropped. We urgently need third-party access to the data needed to accurately model power flows and grid capacity, so developers can see what connecting anywhere implies. And developers need to be able to bring their own proposed flexibility, shaped around their needs.