Data centre giant announces £4bn British investment

A £4bn data centre investment in the UK by one of the industry's biggest companies has been confirmed today, Sky News can reveal.

The money is being put up by Equinix - one of the most significant players on the global stage when it comes to providing data centre space for other clients. The 85-acre site in South Mimms, Hertfordshire, would have 250 megawatts of processing capacity and aim to be up and running by 2030.

This doubles the company's processing power in Britain, and shows it is willing to invest in the UK despite concerns about energy costs and its environmental impact. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall told Sky News the announcement was a "huge vote of confidence in Britain".

Megawhat? Megawatts are how the industry measures the power of a data centre. Until recently, a 20MW or 30MW facility was considered huge, but the AI boom has seen these numbers explode.

To put today's announcement into context, a government estimate at the end of last year reckoned the UK had a data centre capacity of around 1,566MW. An increase of 250MW roughly doubles Equinix's footprint in the UK, and £4bn is its biggest commitment in Europe.

Why are data centres important? They can support jobs, redevelop post-industrial areas, and boost economic growth. This has seen the government bend over backwards to make it easier for the divisive projects to be green lit, including "grey belt" designation for areas of green belt land earmarked for development.

The grey belt, according to the government, includes land near existing settlements, roads, and other existing infrastructure, and disused car parks and petrol stations. Labour controlled Hertsmere council approved the project, with planning officers arguing the land was grey belt.

It's located on oilseed rape fields wedged between the M25, A1(M), South Mimms service station and Potters Bar. This type of data centre needs to be as close as possible to the office workers using its servers - miles equals milliseconds and this can mean millions of pounds in the fast-paced financial world.

Read more:'AI superpower' dream at risk, industry warnsGovt still hoping for £45bn in savings from AI As well as construction roles numbering in the hundreds, Equinix says the facility will help support thousands of jobs in London and the City. James Tyler, the firm's UK managing director, said: "We are excited about the underlying demand in the UK.

"The government are also very excited about the fact we are investing in the UK. Equinix has choice about where we invest, and we're very excited about what the underlying environment looks like, the demand environment, the government support for this." Ms Kendall said it was a "really important investment here from a major company, and they want to help build the infrastructure for the future".

She added that while a "lot of people are worried about what AI will mean to them.