Slough / West London cluster

Equinix · Ark · Virtus · Microsoft · Slough, England, United Kingdom

Water — consumed, not returned

Where the water comes from

Municipal potable supply

Cooling

Mixed free cooling and evaporative; adiabatic on hot days

Basis

Modelled from cooling design — WUE 0.43 L/kWh

Air — what the stacks emit

Where it burns

Netherlands — TenneT

Generation mix

Gas 38 · Wind 25 · Solar 17 · Coal 8

CO₂e

1,487 kt/yr — climate, not air quality

Who wanted it

Who asked for it

Financial institutions, UK government cloud and the hyperscalers' UK regions

Who approved it

Slough Borough Council; the UK designated data centers Critical National Infrastructure in 2024 and created AI Growth Zones to fast-track siting; grid connection queues in West London have delayed housing developments

What it serves

UK cloud regions, financial trading infrastructure and European peering

IT capacity

900 MW running of 1,500 MW announced

Data center demand in West London was significant enough that the Greater London Authority warned in 2022 it was blocking new housing connections until the 2030s. Britain's response was to speed up data centers rather than slow them.

Where it is

51.5100°, -0.6000°

Google Maps Satellite See it on the map

Water and air figures are modelled from disclosed capacity, not measured — site-level error is roughly ±40%. Diesel backup generators are not counted, so on-site figures are floors. Full method.