Mayor of London pledges coordinated action on data center demand

Mayor of London pledges "coordinated action" to deal with data center demand in London - DCD

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Mayor of London pledges "coordinated action" to deal with data center demand in London

Will hold a roundtable on the grid connection queue and announced new 'green' policy in summer

June 17, 2026

Jason Ma

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The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan last week pledged "coordinated action" to deal with the impacts of growing data center demand in London. Chief among these concerns is the “increasing connection queue” for data center power in London.

An illustration of London's data center clusters

– Buro Happold

London currently delivers around 1GW of data center capacity at peak demand, but demand for power in the grid connection queue reaches ten times that existing amount, according to a December 2025 report commissioned by the Greater London Authority and prepared by British engineering consultancy firm Buro Happold. The project also identified 99 operational data centers in Greater London. Greater London excludes Slough, which is home to Europe's largest data center cluster by capacity. Khan has said that he will host a data center development roundtable at London City Hall “in the coming weeks” with “boroughs, energy providers, innovative companies, developers, and universities” to address the issue. The mayor also intends to position London as “a real-world testbed for greener data center solutions, where new approaches to energy efficiency, energy generation, heat reuse, and smart infrastructure can be developed and scaled.” Details of this ‘green data center’ policy will be outlined in the London Plan – this refers to a planning document issued by the Greater London Authority – a draft of which is due to be published in the summer. “My ambition is clear, I want London to become the world’s leading city for environmentally friendly, low-emission, high-efficiency data center development, and AI infrastructure so that our capital remains a leading global hub for digital innovation,” said Khan. “The energy requirements of data centers are colossal, so delivering their expansion at pace alongside London’s other infrastructure needs will require more coordinated planning. Closer partnership between the private and public sector, and across all levels of government, will be vital. “That is why I am committed to leading a whole-city partnership approach, shaped around climate, resilience, and responsible AI, as we work together to build a better, more prosperous London for everyone.” The London Assembly Planning and Regeneration Committee has been vocal in calling for the Mayor to introduce a dedicated data center policy. Back in December 2025, the body said that the data center industry’s demand for power was contributing to house-building delays in the city. “In short, the provision of electricity is critical and will only become more so in the years ahead. As a result of this reliance, when the grid can’t keep pace with demand, the consequences are immediate,” said James Small-Edwards, assembly member and chair of the committee. “The government wants the UK to lead the way globally in artificial intelligence and digital innovation. Bold goals that, if successful, will drive huge demand for data centers, which are often staggeringly energy-intensive. But if we don’t plan ahead, we run the risk of not meeting those ambitions, or realizing those ambitions at the expense of urgently needed housing and infrastructure.”

Mayor of London pledges coordinated action on data center demand

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