Two planned AI datacentres in England will consume 1.3 gigawatts of power and generate more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions annually, surpassing the entire UK output of oil giant ExxonMobil. The projects highlight mounting friction between rapid digital infrastructure expansion and the UK legally binding climate goals.
The Scale of Emissions at Wapseys Wood and Quest Park
Two proposed datacentre developments in England are projected to produce a combined carbon footprint exceeding the entire annual UK output of oil and gas multinational ExxonMobil, according to analysis by non-profit group Foxglove first reported by the Guardian.
The Wapseys Wood facility in Buckinghamshire and the Quest Park facility in Bedfordshire will consume 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity when fully operational, releasing more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions each year, according to the Guardian. For comparison, Ember reported that ExxonMobil emitted 3.9m tonnes of carbon in 2023.
Artificial intelligence datacentres demand enormous quantities of electricity to run thousands of servers and round-the-clock cooling equipment. Across the UK, 315 datacentres are currently waiting to connect to the electricity grid, representing 73GW of demand—nearly double the peak winter energy consumption of the entire country.
On-Site Gas Power Plants and the National Grid Bottleneck
Faced with extensive wait times for grid connections, the developers behind Wapseys Wood and Quest Park are seeking to construct their own on-site gas-fired power stations. The strategy has drawn sharp criticism from environmental campaigners and policy experts.
“The reality is that unchecked datacentre growth is making the transition away from fossil fuels harder, not easier.”
Sam Hunter-Jones, ClientEarth lawyer via The Guardian
Sam Hunter-Jones noted that every megawatt powering a grid-connected datacentre represents a megawatt unavailable to displace fossil fuels elsewhere. Oliver Hayes, head of policy at Global Action Plan, characterized the two projects as catastrophic for our carbon budgets
and warned that fitting them into existing targets would require tightening restrictions across other sectors of the economy.
Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas described the projected emissions as absolutely horrifying
while speaking with the Guardian, arguing that the figures should trigger immediate concern across government.
Government Fast-Tracking and the Debate Over Utilisation Rates
Wapseys Wood and Quest Park rank among the first facilities to be accelerated through the government’s nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) regime. The framework permits developers to bypass local planning authorities, routing final decisions directly through central government.
That bypass has drawn criticism. Lucas argued that the process insulates major developments from local scrutiny. Hayes called the application of the NSIP regime to gas-fired datacentres an affront to local people
and a signal that emissions are not being taken seriously.
Government officials have pushed back against the emissions calculations. A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson told the Guardian that the figures were misleading
because they assumed both facilities would operate at 100% utilisation from their opening day—an assumption the spokesperson called inaccurate.
Foxglove head of communications Tom Hegarty defended the methodology, stating that assuming a 100 per cent utilisation rate represents standard practice within the industry. Friends of the Earth trade and environmental regulation campaigner Kierra Box added that because datacentres aim to scale up their load to full capacity, evaluating top-level predictions remains a valid exercise.
Climate Targets and Future Outlook
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero maintains that its internal analysis demonstrates multiple pathways for the rapid expansion of datacentres to fit within the seventh carbon budget. Even so, significant uncertainty persists regarding how those targets will be met.
Toby Perkins, a Labour MP and chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, called the findings a potent reminder that without the right measures in place, data centres could represent a serious threat to the environment and to our legally-binding climate goals
.
Wapseys Wood declined to comment on the findings, while Quest Park did not respond to inquiries.
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