This post was originally published on Data Center Knowledge
(Bloomberg) — A London government watchdog wants tougher rules on building data centers, warning that their power demands may impinge on the construction of new homes in the crowded capital.
The London Assembly, which scrutinizes the work of Mayor Sadiq Khan, wants data center developers to face more stringent requirements amid concerns about the pace of residential construction, according to a report published Monday.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to fast-track planning approval for data centers and ease access to the power grid to encourage investment and boost the UK economy. But balancing that priority with another key pledge, new housing developments that need to tap the same grid connections, is challenging in power-hungry London.
One of the proposals from the Assembly’s planning and regeneration committee would put data centers into a new category, as currently they are zoned as warehouses. This means a developer can convert an empty warehouse into a data center, despite the widely different energy usage. An average data center can use the same power as 100,000 homes, far more than a warehouse.
Around the world, data centers have become one of the fastest-growing sources of electricity demand. UK regulator Ofgem has warned that a wave of speculative data-center proposals is clogging the grid connection queue. A
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