Gas-Powered Datacentres Threaten UK Net-Zero Targets, Analysis Warns

Two planned datacentres in England could produce more carbon emissions than oil major ExxonMobil generates across its entire UK operations, according to analysis from non-profit group Foxglove, though the government has disputed the figures behind that claim.

The analysis focuses on the Wapseys Wood datacentre in Buckinghamshire and the Quest Park datacentre in Bedfordshire. Foxglove calculated that once fully operational, the two sites would draw 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of power combined and produce more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.

By comparison, ExxonMobil's UK operations emitted 3.9 million tonnes of carbon in 2023, according to figures from energy think tank Ember. Foxglove's specific projection for the two datacentres puts their combined annual emissions at 4.577 million tonnes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) datacentres consume large amounts of electricity to run servers, cooling systems and other facility infrastructure. Currently, 315 datacentres are queued to connect to the UK's national electricity grid, representing a combined demand of 73 gigawatts, nearly double the UK's peak winter energy demand.

Because of long connection delays to the national grid, both the Wapseys Wood and Quest Park projects are seeking to build their own on-site gas-fired power stations, a factor central to Foxglove's emissions calculation.

A government spokesperson pushed back on the analysis, describing the figures as misleading because they assume both sites will operate at 100 per cent utilisation from the moment they open, a scenario the spokesperson said was not realistic.

Foxglove's head of communications, Tom Hegarty, defended the assumption, saying a 100 per cent utilisation rate follows standard practice used across the industry when modelling projected emissions. Kierra Box, a trade and environmental regulation campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said datacentres are generally designed to reach full capacity over time, making it reasonable to examine the top-level projections Foxglove produced.

Reaction from political figures was sharper. Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas called the projected emissions figures "absolutely horrifying" and said they should be raising alarm across government. Labour MP Toby Perkins, who chairs the Commons environmental audit committee currently investigating datacentres' environmental impact, said the analysis served as a reminder that unmanaged growth in the sector could threaten the UK's legally binding climate goals.

The government maintains that its own modelling shows multiple pathways exist for rapid datacentre expansion to remain compatible with the UK's seventh carbon budget, the framework guiding the country's progress toward international climate commitments. Significant uncertainty remains, however, over exactly how that balance would be achieved in practice.

Both projects are among the first to be fast-tracked through the government's nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) regime, a process that allows developers to bypass local planning authorities in favour of decisions made directly by central government.

Oliver Hayes, head of policy at Global Action Plan, criticised the government's decision to allow gas-fired datacentres into that fast-track process, calling it a troubling signal about the seriousness of efforts to address datacentre emissions. Lucas separately raised concern that fast-tracking insulates such projects from local scrutiny at a moment when greater transparency, not less, is needed to guide decisions on where major infrastructure should be sited.

A spokesperson for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said datacentres remain a vital part of the economy and everyday life, and that the government intends to support their growth by expanding the UK's clean power capacity. Wapseys Wood declined to comment, and Quest Park did not respond to a request for comment.