Goldacre plans largest data center in London

Goldacre has announced plans to build one of the UK’s most powerful data centres. The new facility, potentially located in Newham, will deliver 77MW to 90MW of capacity to users in the area.

Goldacre chief executive and chairman of Goldacre-owned Kao Data David Bloom told City AM the data center is expected to be operational by the end of 2026.

The Newham data center will be funded by Goldacre and asset management firm Legal and General, and although the value is not disclosed at this time, the project is expected to add £750 million ($958.8 million) to the economy local in the form of new jobs.

At 77 MW to 90 MW, the Newham data center will be the largest in the UK, twice the size of the Kao data center under construction in Manchester.

The announcement of a new large data center is welcome news for potential users who are concerned about the lack of available capacity in the city. As Bloom stated, there is a “significant lack of power” in the United Kingdom, including London; and the Newham data center will help “add the required capacity”.

London data center market ‘constrained’

A recent report by CBRE found that despite being Europe’s largest data center market, the UK concentrated most of its supply around London. One might assume that this means that data center capacity and services are available for free in London, but this would be incorrect.

Instead, this long-standing focus on London has led to an increasingly “constrained” market. Demand has grown to meet and exceed available capacity, while available land for construction is limited.

Accelerated adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing is further straining the need for data center services in London. But the need for data centers is countered by objections such as the strain they put on the power grid and city resources.

John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid, recently predicted that energy consumption in data centers will increase sixfold over the next ten years.

“Future growth in foundational technologies like AI and quantum computing will mean larger-scale, power-hungry computing infrastructure,” Pettigrew said in a LinkedIn post.

Other objections to the construction of data centers have focused on the negative impact these facilities can have on the environment, resources and natural beauty of the areas in which they are located. This has led to a number of proposals being rejected recently by local planning commissions, such as those in the Green Belt around London.

To avoid these concerns raised by local councils, some industry leaders are pushing for regulatory reforms that will move planning permission away from local planning and zoning and to a more industry-friendly process.

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