UK Datacentres Projected to Outemit ExxonMobil Annually

Analysis by the non-profit group Foxglove reveals that two planned datacentres in England—Wapseys Wood in Buckinghamshire and Quest Park in Bedfordshire—will produce over 4.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. This projected figure exceeds the 3.9 million tonnes emitted by ExxonMobil in the UK in 2023.

To meet a combined 1.3GW power demand amid electricity grid connection delays, both projects seek to build on-site gas-fired power stations. The projects are being fast-tracked through the government's nationally significant infrastructure project regime, which allows them to bypass local planning authorities.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero described the emissions figures as misleading, asserting that datacentre growth can fit within national carbon budgets through clean power. However, Toby Perkins, chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, is leading an inquiry into the environmental impacts of these facilities, warning that unchecked growth poses a threat to legally binding climate goals.