Two planned datacentres in England will produce higher annual carbon emissions than fossil fuel company ExxonMobil's entire UK operations, according to new analysis.
The non-profit group Foxglove calculated that the Wapseys Wood datacentre in Buckinghamshire and the Quest Park datacentre in Bedfordshire will use 1.3GW of power and emit more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide annually when fully operational. By comparison, ExxonMobil emitted 3.9m tonnes in 2023, according to the global energy thinktank Ember.
Threat to climate targets
Experts said the findings demonstrate the "serious threat" datacentres pose to the UK's legally binding climate goals. AI datacentres consume vast amounts of electricity for servers, cooling equipment, and facility systems. Currently, 315 datacentres are queued to connect to the UK's electricity grid, representing 73GW of demand—almost double the UK's peak winter energy demand.
Because of grid connection delays, the Wapseys Wood and Quest Park projects are seeking to build their own on-site gas-fired power stations. Foxglove calculated, using government figures on carbon intensity, that these projects would produce 4.577m tonnes of emissions per year.
Dispute over calculations
A government spokesperson called the figures "misleading," arguing they assume both projects run at 100% utilisation from day one, which they said was "not accurate." Tom Hegarty, head of communications at Foxglove, said assuming 100% utilisation follows standard industry practice. Kierra Box, a trade and environmental regulation campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said the aim is for datacentres to increase load and run at full capacity, making it "valid to look at those top level predictions."
Former Green party leader Caroline Lucas described the projected emissions as "absolutely horrifying," saying it should ring alarm bells across government. The government maintains its own analysis shows multiple pathways for datacentre rollout to fit within the seventh carbon budget, though uncertainty remains over how this will work.
Fast-tracked approvals
The two datacentres are among the first fast-tracked through the government's nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) regime, which bypasses local planning authorities and handles decisions centrally. Toby Perkins, Labour MP and chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, said the analysis is 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."
Oliver Hayes, head of policy at Global Action Plan, called the projects "catastrophic for our carbon budgets," warning that other parts of the economy would need stricter budgets to compensate. Sam Hunter-Jones, a ClientEarth lawyer, said every megawatt powering a datacentre connected to the grid is a megawatt that cannot replace fossil fuels elsewhere, making the transition away from fossil fuels "harder, not easier."
Hayes described the NSIP approvals as a "very worrying sign" and an "affront to local people," while Lucas said the fast-tracking "insulates" projects from local scrutiny. A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said datacentres are "a vital part of our economy," and the government will enable their growth by building "unprecedented amounts of clean power." Wapseys Wood declined to comment; Quest Park did not respond to a request for comment.
