West London data center approved despite power, water concerns

A new data center in west London has been approved despite concerns over its demands on electricity and water supplies.

According to a report by the BBC, Hounslow Council’s Planning Committee voted in favor of plans for the facility on a 12.2-acre brownfield site at the Haslemere Heathrow Estate earlier this month.

The scheme requires an 80MVA high-capacity power connection, equivalent to the electricity needs of tens of thousands of homes.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has warned that around 10 times the electricity capacity currently used by London’s existing data centres has already been requested in the grid connection queue.

Data centers house IT infrastructure, including servers, and are described by the government as underpinning much of the UK’s economic activity and innovation.

London is already home to the vast majority of the UK’s data center capacity, with 99 operational sites and 26 in the planning pipeline as of November last year, according to the GLA.

Ofgem has also identified data centers as a major driver of demand on the UK’s electricity grid.

Hounslow councillors were told that the new center would receive electricity from the National Energy System Operator via the Laleham Grid Supply Point, outside the borough. Planning officers said it would not use capacity earmarked for other developments, including housing.

However, questions remain over its impact on local water supplies.

Affinity Water told MPs in May that some data centers were seeking up to three million liters of water a day—equivalent to the peak demand of around 3,500 homes.

The GLA had previously warned that the scheme did not fully comply with the London Plan, citing concerns over transport and its high water and energy intensity.

Under the approval, the developer must submit a strategy to minimize operational water consumption.

The decision comes after Ealing Council approved a 52,000-square-meter data center at the former Honey Monster factory in Southall last month.

Both schemes remain subject to a Stage 2 referral to the Mayor of London.