Energy firm Centrica has confirmed that it has purchased an 850MW gas plant in South Wales near an area tipped to become a data centre hotspot in the coming years.
The 16-year-old Severn Combined-Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) was purchased by the firm from Calon Energy Group for approximately £370m and represents a major acquisition in Centrica’s generating portfolio in the UK.
South Wales is poised to become a major hotspot for European data centre development, as it has spare grid capacity and the energy infrastructure needed to support the electricity-hungry facilities. The area is currently securing roughly 20% of the entire UK’s upcoming data centre pipeline.
Population hotspots such as London are currently grid-locked, with high local energy demands leaving very little slack for extra grid capacity. As a result, some connections will have to wait until 2035 before being connected amid a flurry of efforts to strengthen the grid.
South Wales, on the other hand, is an energy exporting region...