If a project isn't going to get a connection, it has to find an alternative method.
Across Britain, the infrastructure of artificial intelligence is colliding with the infrastructure of climate ambition — and in that collision, an older, dirtier energy source is filling the gap. More than a hundred datacentre operators, unable to secure connections to a congested National Grid, are turning to gas as a primary power source, not a temporary measure. The scale of demand — over 15 terawatt hours annually — places the UK's Clean Power 2030 commitments under genuine strain, raising the uncomfortable question of whether the promises made to the future can survive the appetites of the present.
- A years-long backlog in National Grid connections has left 100 gigawatts of datacentre projects stranded, forcing developers to seek power wherever they can find it.
- What began as emergency backup planning has quietly transformed: gas is now being requested as permanent primary supply, with some operators seeking over 100 megawatts of continuous fossil fuel capacity.
- The UK's Clean Power 2030 target — capping unabated gas at under 5% of electricity supply — faces a regulatory blind spot, as off-grid gas generators may fall outside the accounting framework entirely.
- The pattern echoes the United States, where AI datacentres serving Meta, OpenAI and others are projected to emit more carbon annually than the entire nation of Morocco.
- Ofgem has promised reforms and the government is weighing strategic prioritisation of connections, but the timeline is uncertain while developers are making irreversible infrastructure decisions right now.
Britain's electricity grid is caught between two forces that will not wait: the voracious power demands of artificial intelligence infrastructure and the legal obligation to decarbonise by 2030. The collision is no longer hypothetical — it is unfolding in real time.
More than a hundred datacentre operators across the UK have submitted requests for gas connections in just two years, representing over 15 terawatt hours of annual energy demand — roughly enough to power London for four and a half months. Crucially, many of these requests are not for temporary backup power while awaiting grid access. Developers are increasingly seeking permanent gas supplies exceeding 100 megawatts, treating fossil fuel generation not as a stopgap but as a foundation.
The underlying cause is a brutal arithmetic: the National Grid has 100 gigawatts of datacentre projects queued for connection, and it cannot process them fast enough. When a connection is unavailable, developers must find another path. Gas networks, as Silvia Simon of Future Energy Networks described, are now receiving requests that would have been avoided just a few years ago on both carbon and permitting grounds.
The United States offers a cautionary mirror. AI datacentres built for Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft and xAI are projected to collectively emit more carbon each year than Morocco — powered by off-grid gas generators their developers built themselves.
For the UK, the regulatory stakes are significant. The Clean Power 2030 target limits unabated gas to under 5% of electricity supply, but datacentres generating their own power off-grid may fall into an accounting grey zone — the emissions real, the responsibility diffuse. Ofgem has acknowledged the problem and signalled reform; the government is considering whether AI projects warrant prioritised grid access. But the decisions being made by developers today will shape the energy landscape for decades, and the clock on both the climate target and the AI buildout is already running.
Britain's electricity grid is facing a collision between two urgent demands: the insatiable power hunger of artificial intelligence infrastructure and the legal commitment to slash carbon emissions by 2030. The collision is happening now, and it is forcing datacentre operators to make a choice that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
More than a hundred new datacentres across the UK are planning to burn gas to generate their own electricity. Some of these installations will do so permanently, not as a temporary workaround while waiting for grid connections, but as their primary power source. The scale is staggering. In just the past two years, datacentre operators have submitted more than 100 requests for gas connections to Britain's natural gas suppliers. Those requests alone represent a demand for more than 15 terawatt hours of energy annually—enough to power London for roughly four and a half months.
The root cause is straightforward and brutal: the National Grid cannot connect them fast enough. Stuart Okin, Ofgem's director of cyber regulation and AI, laid out the mathematics at All-Energy, the UK's largest renewable and low-carbon energy conference, held in Glasgow. There are 100 gigawatts of datacentre projects in the queue waiting for grid connections. Not all of them will get one. When a project cannot secure a connection, it must find another way to power itself. For many, that means gas.
Silvia Simon, head of research at Future Energy Networks, which represents Britain's natural gas suppliers, described a marked shift in developer behaviour over the past year. Gas networks, she said, are receiving requests not just for backup power but for primary supply. Developers are no longer treating gas as a temporary fix while they wait for the grid. They are treating it as a permanent solution. An energy consultant who has worked in the sector for years confirmed this transformation. Where gas was previously avoided due to carbon concerns and permitting challenges, developers are now increasingly requesting over 100 megawatts of permanent gas capacity.
This mirrors what is already happening in the United States, where the race to build AI infrastructure has accelerated the construction of fossil fuel generation. In Tennessee, activists have fought Elon Musk's xAI over the operation of methane-powered generators. Eleven datacentres built to serve Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft and xAI are projected to emit more carbon annually than the entire country of Morocco. Those emissions come from off-grid gas generators that the datacentre developers built themselves.
Britain's climate commitments now face a test. The Clean Power 2030 target requires that unabated gas supply no more than 5 percent of the electricity system. Julian Leslie, director of strategic planning at the UK's National Energy System Operator, acknowledged the tension. If datacentres are powered by unabated gas but not connected to the electricity grid, they exist in a regulatory grey zone. The emissions still happen. The climate impact still occurs. But the accounting becomes murky. "It does raise an interesting question," Leslie said, about what those emissions mean for the target.
Ofgem has acknowledged the problem and promised reforms. Eleanor Warburton, the regulator's director for energy system design and development, said that connections are being delivered and that the system must work better for viable projects ready to proceed. The government is examining whether strategic connections—potentially including AI projects—need to be prioritised differently. But the timeline remains unclear, and the pressure from datacentre developers is immediate.
Environmental advocates are alarmed. Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said that those promoting the rush for hyperscale AI datacentres seem to have abandoned the last fifty years of climate science. The conference sessions on AI infrastructure, she noted, took it for granted that onsite gas generation would be necessary because connecting to the congested grid was impossible. The choice facing Britain is no longer theoretical. It is happening now, in real time, as developers make decisions about how to power the artificial intelligence economy.
Notable Quotes
There's 100GW of datacentre projects in the queue. Clearly that's not all going to be able to connect to the grid.— Stuart Okin, Ofgem director of cyber regulation and AI
It does raise an interesting question about what that means for the Clean Power 2030 target.— Julian Leslie, UK National Energy System Operator director of strategic planning
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why is the grid so congested that over a hundred datacentres can't get connected?
The grid wasn't built for this. AI datacentres demand enormous amounts of power, all at once, in specific locations. The connection queue has years of backlog. By the time a project gets to the front, it might be years away from actually being online.
So they just... build their own power plants?
Exactly. And the easiest, fastest way to do that is gas. You can build a gas generator much faster than you can wait for a grid connection or build renewable capacity from scratch.
But doesn't that completely undermine the climate targets?
It does, but in a way that's hard to measure. If a datacentre burns gas off-grid, the emissions still happen. But they don't show up in the same accounting as grid electricity. It's a loophole.
Is this happening in other countries?
The US is already there. Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft—their datacentres are running on gas generators. Eleven of them will emit more carbon than Morocco does in a year.
And the UK is about to follow the same path?
Unless something changes with grid connections or planning rules, yes. The requests are already in. The developers are already planning for it.
What would actually fix this?
Either the grid needs to connect projects faster, or the government needs to make gas generation so difficult to permit that developers have no choice but to wait for renewable power. Right now, neither is happening.