Data Centre Watch

Latest

147 entries · showing 16–30

1. 21 Oct 2026 World United States Policy

   Trump tells data centres to make their own power and pay a 'dividend'

   In a Truth Social post on 21 October, Trump said new and very large data centres should be required to produce their own electricity and supply or sell surplus to local communities or the grid, so they don't push up household bills. He also urged developers to pay a 'dividend' to the community or to individuals living nearby: 'Data Centers that were highly unpopular in a certain area, have become extremely popular when a financial deal is struck. MAKE DEALS, and get them built!!!'

   Why it matters: The 'own your power, pay your neighbours' formula now coming from the White House — and it treats consent as a price, not a process.

   Source: Economic Times / Times of India (Reuters) [C]

2. 21 Oct 2026 UK Scotland Reported

   Could Scotland's AI data centres be a target list for hostile nations?

   Defence analyst Stuart Crawford tells The National that Scotland's data centres 'would absolutely' be on a 'target list of any hostile nation', especially with hybrid warfare 'all around us'. It follows the war's first data-centre strikes — Russia hitting or disrupting 14 named Ukrainian operators from mid-September, then Ukraine striking three Yandex sites — and MI5's warning that AI is 'supercharging' cyberattacks, with dwell times down from weeks to about 72 minutes. APRS warns Scotland has 'no control over what these data centres are going to be used for', with around 30 planned and concentrated in the central belt. Edinburgh's Professor Andrew Neal pushes back: no case for singling out Scotland, though data centres are increasingly military-relevant.

   Why it matters: A new axis in the planning row — not just water and power, but what the building is for, and who might target it.

   Source: The National [C]

3. 21 Oct 2026 UK Scotland Policy

   Minister's letter casts doubt on Scotland's data-centre guidance

   Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad wrote to Green MSP Patrick Harvie on 8 October saying ministers were still considering whether to bring forward national planning guidance for hyperscale data centres — two days after confirming in a written answer that it would be published before Christmas, and having said in September it would come by year-end. The Scottish Government now insists guidance will be published before the end of 2026, as councils and campaigners press for the safeguards behind the current pause. A Green MSP has urged North Ayrshire Council to back a national consultation on data centres.

   Why it matters: The pause on hyperscale decisions rests on guidance that may not arrive when ministers said — the same 'announce now, decide later' pattern as the UK's missing National Policy Statement.

   Source: The Herald [C]

4. 18 Oct 2026 Updated 21 Oct World Essex, UK 90 MW Reported

   Microsoft pulls out of Nscale's Essex data-centre deal

   Microsoft has withdrawn from a deal at Nscale's flagship Loughton, Essex data centre — a setback for the British AI firm's multibillion-pound UK plans. Grid officials reportedly do not expect a power supply to the site until the 2030s, and Microsoft — about 40% of Nscale's contract revenue — was to rent 23,040 of Nvidia's GB300 GPUs from Q1 2027. Loughton formed part of the £22bn of investment pledged during Donald Trump's 2025 state visit and was billed as the UK's largest sovereign AI data centre. Nscale says it remains committed to the site and is exploring alternative power; it lands days after reports that its Norwegian flagship is six months late, ahead of a $35bn IPO. Microsoft has since said its £22bn UK investment plan is unchanged.

   Why it matters: The flagship UK AI site loses its anchor customer — the power problem and the money problem arriving together.

   Source: The Telegraph [C]

   Changes (3)

   1. 21 Oct 2026 — Added Microsoft's statement that its £22bn UK investment plan is unchanged despite the Loughton exit.
   2. 18 Oct 2026 — Added confirmed detail: power not expected until the 2030s; Microsoft was ~40% of Nscale revenue and was to rent 23,040 GB300 GPUs; Loughton was part of the £22bn Trump state-visit pledge.
   3. 18 Oct 2026 — First filed.
5. 7 Oct 2026 Updated 21 Oct World Tennessee, US Policy

   Memphis council rejects a long data-centre moratorium

   Memphis City Council first voted 7–5 to postpone a year-long moratorium on new data centres (Ordinance 5982) to its 20 October meeting, after a packed, protest-disrupted session; the city already hosts xAI's 'Colossus'. On 20 October it rejected the long pause on a tied vote and passed a shorter, amended moratorium instead. The fight has centred on Elon Musk's expansion — he now says he is staying in Memphis 'night and day' to guide the build-out.

   Why it matters: The US version of the local revolt: a city with a hyperscaler already running, asked by neighbours to stop the next one.

   Source: DCD [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 21 Oct 2026 — Added the 20 Oct outcome: the long moratorium was rejected on a tied vote and a shorter amended pause passed instead; noted the xAI/Musk context.
   2. 7 Oct 2026 — First filed.
6. 9 Oct 2026 Updated 21 Oct World Australia Reported

   Nvidia-backed Firmus scraps its IPO over AI valuation doubts

   Firmus — which builds liquid-cooled 'AI factories' for OpenAI and Meta — pulled what would have been one of Australia's biggest-ever listings (a ~$30bn valuation), citing market volatility. A major pension fund declined to take part over valuation and debt concerns. The Tasmanian government has since given it a December deadline for its AUD 2bn Wesley Vale 'AI factory', which is still not fully funded, and the corporate regulator is making 'routine inquiries' after the float collapsed; the state premier continues to back the project.

   Why it matters: The money behind the build-out is wobbling — the financing side of the data-centre boom, not just the planning or the power.

   Source: BBC News [C]

   Changes (2)

   1. 21 Oct 2026 — Added the Tasmanian government's December deadline for the AUD 2bn Wesley Vale project, confirmation it is not yet fully funded, and the regulator's 'routine inquiries' after the float collapsed.
   2. 9 Oct 2026 — First filed.
7. 20 Oct 2026 World South Korea Reported

   South Korea's Elice plunges on debut, dragging data-centre stocks

   South Korean AI data-centre firm Elice fell by roughly 30–40% on its trading debut, pulling other data-centre stocks lower as investors reassessed the build-out's valuations. It comes in the same week that Nscale's $35bn US listing was knocked by the loss of its Microsoft anchor tenant.

   Why it matters: The market is now pricing the build-out's risk — the third signal this month (Firmus, Nscale, Elice) that the money side is cracking.

   Source: CNBC / FT / Telegraph [C]

8. 20 Oct 2026 UK London Reported

   A power event at Google Cloud's London zones takes down UK banks

   A power event at Google Cloud's London data-centre zones knocked services offline for hours on 20 October, taking down banking apps (Revolut, Lloyds, HSBC), Rightmove and court systems before recovering for most customers. The outage — and the Guardian's line that the cloud is 'too big to not fail' — put the UK's reliance on a handful of providers into the foreground.

   Why it matters: The concentration risk in one paragraph: a single London facility's power fault becomes a national outage.

   Source: BBC News / The Guardian [C]

9. 20 Oct 2026 World Virginia, US 3000 MW Submitted

   A $100bn, 21-building campus proposed in Virginia

   Stack Infrastructure has filed permits for 'Project Crossroads' at the Berry Hill megasite in Pittsylvania County, Virginia: 21 data-centre buildings built in phases over 15 years on about 2,990 acres, up to $100bn of investment (with at least $73.5bn binding), roughly 3,000MW of capacity — mostly generated on-site via two gas facilities — and up to 7 million gallons of water a day. It is described as the largest private single investment on record with Virginia's economic-development partnership.

   Why it matters: The scale keeps climbing: a single county campus now sized like a power system, with a water demand to match.

   Source: Cardinal News [C]

10. 20 Oct 2026 UK Burnley, Lancashire Pre-application

    A £12m data centre under a Burnley hotel — with almost no detail

    Plans would convert the upper and lower underground car parks and basement of The Brunlea Hotel on Keirby Walk, Burnley, into a £12m, 4,000 sq m data centre. The application is filed as a bare 'change of use': no transport, parking, air-quality, energy, carbon, drainage or noise assessments, and it is unclear who the operator would be or how much power it would draw. It is linked to the Burnley-based Real Big Group; a council cabinet member has formally objected, and the application will be decided later.

    Why it matters: A reminder of how little a planning application can contain for one of the most energy- and water-intensive forms of development.

    Source: BBC News / Local Democracy Reporting [C]

11. 9 Oct 2026 Updated 20 Oct UK Norfolk 150 MW Consultation open

    Norwich Apex 150MW scheme into noise scrutiny

    The Keswick (Norwich) 150MW scheme faces noise scrutiny: environmental assessments acknowledge 'very high noise levels' without mitigation, the petition has reached ~15,000 signatures, and the Conservative council leader Daniel Elmer has said he will object (application 2026/2957). South Norfolk MP Ben Goldsborough and broadcaster Jake Humphrey also oppose it over its proximity to Marston Marsh; the buildings are ~20m high with 72 roof-mounted chillers, and consultation opened on 7 Oct. On 20 October around 100 people protested outside Norfolk County Council's headquarters.

    Why it matters: The same questions as Abbots Road — noise, water and farmland — a hundred miles east.

    Source: TMC Insight / BBC [C]

    Changes (4)

    1. 20 Oct 2026 — Added the ~100-person protest outside Norfolk council headquarters (20 Oct).
    2. 14 Oct 2026 — Added South Norfolk Council's Conservative leader Daniel Elmer, who has also said he will object.
    3. 13 Oct 2026 — Added the MP and broadcaster objections, the ~20m height and 72 roof chillers, and the Marston Marsh proximity; consultation opened 7 Oct.
    4. 9 Oct 2026 — First filed.
12. 19 Oct 2026 UK England Policy

    Water bosses called in as ministers order daily drought monitoring

    Water company chief executives were called before the National Drought Group, chaired by water minister Emma Hardy, after ministers ordered daily monitoring of reservoir and river levels. Companies reported holding back less water for rivers, cutting pressure overnight where safe, and moving water between networks. Drought permits are in place for Wimbleball and Ardingly, Wessex Water is preparing seven more, and non-essential use ban applications from South East Water, South West Water and Southern Water sit with the Environment Secretary. The Environment Agency says at least 120% of average rainfall is needed over six months to leave drought by spring.

    Why it matters: Daily monitoring means Whitehall is now watching the numbers itself — and the companies' measures are being reported back as obligations rather than offers.

    Source: Defra / Environment Agency / Emma Hardy MP (GOV.UK) [V]

13. 19 Oct 2026 World Portugal Reported

    Portugal's health service lost prescriptions after a data-centre power failure

    Two successive power failures at SPMS’s data centre in northern Portugal took the National User Registry, the electronic prescription system (PEM) and access to health records offline nationwide from about 10am on 19 October. Staff could not see patient records or issue prescriptions; services were largely restored by 3pm. The doctors’ union FNAM is demanding an explanation, and SPMS says recovery-plan-funded infrastructure giving real-time redundancy will arrive by the end of 2026.

    Why it matters: The other half of the argument: the facilities being approved at gigawatt scale are single points of failure for public services, and here the fix was known — and unfunded until it broke.

    Source: Data Center Dynamics [V]

14. 19 Oct 2026 World Killala, County Mayo, Ireland Refused

    An Coimisiún Pleanála refuses Killala data centre over grid connection

    The board overturned Mayo County Council's permission for a data centre at the former Asahi site in Killala — a scheme reported at €1.5bn, and one that had drawn objections including from Sally Rooney. A key reason given was the absence of a grid connection, which the developer could not obtain until planning was granted: councillor Jarlath Munnelly said the decision had 'delivered a worrying message', and council chief executive Kevin Kelly called it 'a very disappointing outcome'.

    Why it matters: The grid-versus-planning circularity in a single decision: you cannot get a connection without permission, and you cannot get permission without a connection.

    Source: Western People (Local Democracy Reporting) [V]

15. 19 Oct 2026 UK England Policy

    Ministerial direction tells the EA to protect supplies in severe-drought zones

    Defra and the Environment Agency published a direction under section 40 of the Environment Act 1995, instructing the EA to act to protect public water supplies in water resource zones affected by severe drought. It is the legal instrument behind the river-release cuts and abstraction changes being made across the south — the machinery that sits between a drought declaration and a water company restriction order.

    Why it matters: Formalises who decides what when supply runs short: the state, not the companies, holds this lever — and it has now been pulled for the hardest-hit zones.

    Source: Defra / Environment Agency (GOV.UK) [V]