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London datacentre plan projected to emit 1.2m tonnes CO2 a year
Planning documents for the East Havering Data Centre Campus estimate over 72m tonnes of CO2e across a 60-year lifespan, with 1.2m tonnes annually once fully operational.
The proposed East Havering Data Centre Campus in North Ockendon, outer London, would be among the largest data centres in Europe if approved, using 218 hectares of green belt for server and storage systems to support AI and cloud computing, according to planning documents reviewed by the Guardian Business.
The documents project the hyperscale campus would generate more than 1.0 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year once fully operational, and more than 72 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over its projected 60-year lifespan. The Guardian Business analysis says the project would also be equivalent to the carbon footprint of 8,480 flights between London and New York.
The developer, Digital Reef, has said in its application that the 14.7 billion pound project does not align with a science-based 1.5C compatible trajectory and targets net zero by 2050.
The proposal estimates annual electricity use of 2.65 billion kWh at a likely 50% load, which Digital Reef described as comparable to the demand of more than 1 million UK households. Power would be supplied primarily via a 600MVA connection to the National Grid, with major upgrades including a new 400kV substation planned because the existing site lacks sufficient capacity, the Guardian Business reports.