Healey’s grid pledge faces test as data centre pipeline stalls

John Healey’s Budget pledge to fast-track electricity connections for British data centres faces an immediate test, as new research shows only 13 per cent of planned capacity is under construction. The Chancellor announced a new Data Centre Covenant on Wednesday, offering strategically important projects priority access to Britain’s electricity grid in exchange for commitments on local jobs, investment and environmental protections. However, analysis published by Science Works on Thursday found that most of Britain’s proposed data centre capacity remains in the planning pipeline, while more than two-fifths has no announced tenants. The findings raise questions over how far faster grid connections alone can accelerate the government’s AI infrastructure ambitions. We always knew planning and grid capacity were problems; this report shows that demand for UK compute might be low too , said Will Stone, a contributing author at Science Works. Grid access comes with conditions