Fintan Slye, chief executive of the National Energy System Operator, urged data‑centre developers to focus on Scotland during a London conference. He warned that building in the south‑east would add strain to an already congested grid and inflate electricity costs. Scotland’s offshore wind capacity offers a cleaner, more flexible power source for new sites, for the data centre industry today.

Nearly 100 gigawatts of new data‑centre capacity are queued to join the grid, double Britain’s peak demand, Slye said. The government aims to lift current 1.6‑gigawatt capacity to about six gigawatts by 2035 to support AI ambitions. However, high power prices and limited cable capacity in London threaten to stall the push for developers looking to invest in the north.

Slye noted that data centres willing to curtail peak usage could ease grid pressure and lower connection costs. By negotiating flexible consumption, sites could reduce the need for costly infrastructure upgrades. The operator also pays wind farms to curtail excess output; adding demand from northern data centres would help absorb surplus wind, stabilising the network and reduce overall system costs.

These remarks come after the government rejected a proposal to split the electricity market into regions, which would have granted cheaper power to Scottish wind. By steering demand north and encouraging flexibility, the grid operator aims to keep costs down for consumers and sustain the UK’s AI growth. The move signals a strategic shift toward renewable‑powered data infrastructure for future