"The connection queue ballooned after the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan, unveiled at the start of 2025, encouraged a wave of datacenter construction. Applications to the transmission network grew 460 percent in the six months to June. To clear the backlog, the government is consulting on measures to tackle speculative applications and accelerate "viable projects that will benefit Britain.""
"A single AI facility can consume as much energy as 100,000 homes, and a London Assembly report found that West London's local grid hit full capacity in 2022, stalling planned housing developments. As we continue to face a housing crisis with the social and economic issues that it brings, it is frustrating that regulatory, planning, and policy arrangements effectively prioritize energy-intensive datacenters over energy-efficient homes for families."
The British government is consulting on reforms to expedite grid connections for strategically important infrastructure, particularly datacenters, following a 460 percent surge in applications within six months. The government attributes connection delays exceeding 15 years to speculative applications clogging the pipeline. Proposed measures aim to filter out non-viable projects and accelerate connections for datacenters, AI Growth Zones, industrial electrification sites, and EV charging hubs. However, this prioritization raises concerns about housing development, as single AI facilities consume energy equivalent to 100,000 homes. The Home Builders Federation warns that current regulatory arrangements effectively prioritize energy-intensive datacenters over energy-efficient housing, exacerbating Britain's housing crisis.
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