Demand connections: Is reform needed for data centre development?

The flipside of grid connections reform is an equally pressing problem when it comes to connecting large industrial energy users. What could be done to help? Utility Week asked the experts.

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When it comes to generation, connection to the grid is being reformed as the system struggles to cope with a surge in applications. But what about the arguably underrepresented area of demand connections?

Data centres are a case in point. High-value industrial and commercial projects that also suck up huge volumes of electricity and water, data centres are vital to making the UK a great place to do AI and for development of sectors reliant on digitalisation.

But connecting large consumers of energy like data centres to the grid is arguably just as tricky as for generators. Our recent roundtable with SSEN Distribution at Utility Week’s Reforming Grid Connections event in London explored these issues with the help of a panel of experts.

If data centres were viewed as critical national infrastructure, we asked, would the demand connections situation improve? What might a prioritisation system for data centres and other large industrial consumers of energy look like? And how could we ensure real projects took precedence over speculative schemes?

Here’s a flavour of the key topics to emerge on the day...