Microsoft exits Nscale’s Loughton data centre project amid power delays

Microsoft has withdrawn from a project to build the UK’s largest AI data centre in Loughton, Essex, where it had planned to fund a supercomputer. The facility was due to receive its power supply by the end of the year, but that connection is understood to have been delayed until the 2030s.

Nscale, which unveiled £2 billion plans for the complex last year, said it remains committed to the development and is exploring alternative power sources alongside other UK expansion sites. The company attributed the delay to a “London-wide grid issue” and said its other contracts were unaffected. The centre is expected to create 250 permanent jobs.

Microsoft said its decision concerned a single site and that it remained committed to its partnership with Nscale, including digital infrastructure and AI projects globally. Nscale also described the relationship as strong and long-term. The setback comes as the Government seeks to make Britain an AI superpower, amid growing warnings over whether the UK’s electricity system can meet demand from new data centres.