Summary
- Data Centre Watch records 154 researched entries, including 152 individual schemes.
- Published power figures for 93 schemes total approximately 22.9GW, using different capacity definitions.
- Only 4.4GW of that total is explicitly described as grid connection capacity, while other figures represent IT load or total facility power.
A UK data centre planning tracker has identified approximately 22.9GW of stated electricity demand across 93 developments, revealing the scale of proposed infrastructure and the difficulty of comparing the capacity figures used by developers.
The figures come from Data Centre Watch, an independent research project examining data centre proposals across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Its 3 November 2026 snapshot contains 154 researched records, including 152 individual schemes and two wider planning arrangements that are not counted as separate capacity proposals.
Of the 152 individual schemes, 93 have published power figures contributing to the 22.9GW total. The remaining records do not provide a capacity figure suitable for inclusion in that calculation.
Approximately 6.5GW of the stated demand is associated with schemes classified as already approved or under construction.
These figures do not represent measured electricity consumption or a verified forecast of future demand. The tracker uses the power values disclosed in available documentation, which can describe different aspects of a development.
Some schemes state the total electricity required by the facility, including computing equipment, cooling, and supporting systems. Others provide only the power required by the servers and other IT equipment.
A third category describes the electricity connection requested, reserved, or considered necessary for the site.
Data Centre Watch distinguishes those measurements in its methodology. Of the headline total, approximately 4.4GW across 11 records is explicitly described as grid connection capacity.
A further 6.7GW across 42 records represents IT load, while 11.8GW across 40 records comprises total power figures not explicitly identified as grid connection values.
Those categories explain why the 22.9GW figure cannot be compared directly with the amount of capacity requested through the national electricity grid connection queue.
IT load excludes electricity consumed by supporting infrastructure. Total facility power may include those additional requirements, but it does not automatically establish the capacity contracted with a network operator.
A grid connection figure describes a different relationship again, identifying electricity capacity associated with a connection arrangement rather than the facility’s expected continuous consumption.
The mix of definitions means that the headline total is best understood as a record of stated project requirements, with important limitations on its use as a measure of national electricity demand.
Data Centre Watch also distinguishes the documentary basis of the figures. Approximately 10.6GW across 46 records has an official document among the sources supporting its stated size.
The remaining 12.3GW across 47 records relies on information from developers, media reporting, campaign organisations, or other sources without an identified official document supporting the size figure.
This distinction affects how the estimates should be interpreted. A developer may describe the maximum ambition for a campus before receiving planning approval or establishing the electricity capacity that can be delivered to the site.
An official planning document can provide stronger evidence of what has been proposed or assessed, although its existence does not mean the project has been approved or that the stated electricity requirement is available.
The tracker covers developments at different stages, including early proposals, applications awaiting decisions, approved schemes, and construction projects.
Those stages influence when capacity might become operational. A development with planning permission may still require electricity infrastructure, financing, equipment procurement, construction, and commissioning.
Some proposed campuses also contain several development phases, meaning the full published capacity may not be intended to become available at the same time.
Project geography introduces further variation. The tracker identifies 88 local authority areas with at least one recorded data centre scheme, reflecting development activity extending beyond established London and South East markets.
Sites with existing industrial electrical infrastructure may face different connection requirements from developments requiring new substations, transmission lines, or substantial local reinforcement.
Planning applications must also address land use, environmental effects, access infrastructure, drainage, cooling systems, and the consequences of electricity generation or storage equipment proposed alongside the main buildings.
The database identifies nine schemes that have been determined by ministers or are due to enter national decision-making processes.
The UK government’s developing planning framework reflects the growing significance of large computing projects. DataCentral recently covered the draft National Policy Statement for data centres and changes to strategic electricity connection policy.
Those policy developments address important aspects of approval and capacity allocation, but they do not immediately make electrical infrastructure available to every proposed development.
National connection queue figures measure electricity requests recorded by network organisations, while the Data Centre Watch tracker identifies projects with geographical and documentary records.
The datasets may overlap, but their inclusion criteria differ. Adding them together would risk double counting and would not provide a reliable measure of future operating demand.
Data Centre Watch links its individual entries to supporting planning documents, developer information, and other evidence, allowing project details and reported capacities to be checked against their original sources.
Its latest snapshot demonstrates the scale of electricity requirements under discussion across the UK while identifying the substantial uncertainty between proposed power demand, confirmed connection arrangements, and capacity that eventually becomes operational.
