Nscale’s UK AI Data Center Delayed Until the Early 2030s

    A large artificial intelligence (AI) data center to be built by Nscale in the UK will be delayed for years due to an electricity shortage. The center was scheduled to open in 2027. However, UK Power Networks said the grid would not be able to provide the required electrical capacity until the early 2030s. The center being built in Loughton, Essex, was touted as the country’s largest AI supercomputer. Nvidia is also among the project’s investors. Former Prime Minister Keir Starmer had called the project an example of the UK’s AI strategy.    The center requires a 90 MW electrical connection. That amount of energy is equivalent to the demand of approximately 315,000 homes. Such cloud centers use many graphics processing units (GPUs) for artificial intelligence computations and therefore require large amounts of electricity. Nevertheless, as of March 2026, the project site was still being used as a yard for storing construction scaffolding.    A long queue has formed among data centers seeking to connect to the UK’s power grid. In June 2026, Ofgem announced that 315 data centers were waiting to connect to the National Grid. These facilities have a combined energy demand of 73 GW. This is 62% more than the country’s current capacity of 45 GW. As a result, it is becoming difficult for new projects to receive electricity on schedule.    Nscale is a startup founded in the UK, and the Loughton center is its first project. The company is preparing to go public at a valuation of £26 billion (approximately 58.4 billion manat). Nscale has already raised £2.55 billion (approximately 5.7 billion manat). However, the GPU systems at the center cannot be brought online until the electrical connection is resolved.    The energy shortage is not only affecting the Loughton project. Approximately 100 data centers in the UK plan to build their own gas-fired power plants to avoid waiting for a grid connection. Data center projects awaiting connection to the power grid are reported to have a combined capacity of 100 GW. The country generates electricity from gas, nuclear power, wind, solar energy, and biomass. Some energy is also imported from Europe.