EIC urges UK to use gas network to bypass AI data centre grid delays

The United Kingdom faces a significant challenge in attracting artificial intelligence and cloud computing investment due to prolonged delays in electricity grid connections. Stuart Broadley, chief executive of the Energy Industries Council, has argued that the nation’s existing gas infrastructure offers a viable alternative to the current bottlenecks. He stated that while hyperscalers and data centre developers possess substantial capital, they are frequently told that grid connections will not be available until 2038. Broadley described the current system as expensive and slow, noting that it is driving capital towards more agile international markets. He proposed that by shifting from electrons to molecules, developers could access a cheaper and faster energy solution through the National Gas Transmission Network.

According to Broadley, securing a high-pressure connection to the national gas network takes between six and 12 months, a significant reduction compared to the 15-year wait for electricity. The UK’s gas infrastructure is already built, fully depreciated, and possesses immense spare capacity. By transitioning to on-site gas power generation via combined cycle gas turbines, developers can bypass the electricity queue entirely. The council highlighted that the UK operates close to 40 major CCGT plants, delivering more than 30 gigawatts of dispatchable capacity. Although these assets historically ran as continuous baseload power, the influx of wind and solar energy has reduced their fleet-wide capacity factor to roughly 40 percent. This represents an underutilised reserve of energy infrastructure that could be leveraged to bring facilities online in two years instead of 12, providing a competitive advantage and avoiding the high costs of electricity transmission upgrades.

The technical requirements of modern AI data centres align closely with the capabilities of gas generation. Artificial intelligence clusters require an uninterrupted supply of baseload power, demanding five-nines availability, or 99.999 percent uptime. Relying solely on an electrical grid fed by intermittent renewables necessitates expensive battery storage or diesel back-up generators. On-site gas generation allows data centres to operate in island mode, independent of volatile weather conditions or localised grid failures. Where data centres are co-located with existing peaker plants or underused CCGT assets, they can utilise spare capacity that is already permitted and operational. Furthermore, when the local electrical grid experiences peak demand, these on-site assets can export excess electricity back to the public, effectively turning data centres into balancing mechanisms for the wider energy network.

Addressing sustainability concerns, Broadley acknowledged that the UK has legally binding net-zero targets and that hyperscalers have strict corporate carbon-neutrality goals. However, he argued that on-site gas plants built today are not permanent investments in carbon lock-in but rather necessary bridge technologies. Modern gas turbines are increasingly engineered to be hydrogen-ready, allowing them to blend and eventually switch entirely to green hydrogen or biomethane as those supplies become commercially viable. Additionally, capturing carbon from a localised, single-point on-site generation facility is considered more feasible than mitigating the diffuse footprint of an unstable macro-grid. By establishing the infrastructure now, the UK can secure data centres today and decarbonise the fuel source tomorrow. Broadley warned that capital is highly mobile and that if hyperscalers cannot secure power in the UK, they will take their investments elsewhere. He concluded that the infrastructure is present, the capacity is waiting, and the timeline is clear, urging a shift towards using the existing network rather than waiting for a future grid.