{"slug": "two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil", "title": "Two UK Datacentres Will ‘Produce More Emissions Than ExxonMobil’", "summary": "Two planned UK datacentres, Wapseys Wood in Buckinghamshire and Quest Park in Bedfordshire, will generate more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions, exceeding ExxonMobil's 3.9 million tonnes emitted in 2023, according to analysis by non-profit Foxglove. The datacentres, fast-tracked under the UK's nationally significant infrastructure project regime, will use 1.3 gigawatts of power and are among 315 datacentres representing 73GW of demand on the UK grid. Labour MP Toby Perkins called the analysis a 'potent reminder' of the threat to climate goals, while a government spokesperson disputed the figures.", "body_md": "# Two UK Datacentres Will ‘Produce More Emissions Than ExxonMobil’\n\n## They were fast-tracked by a government scheme.\n\n### by [Tom Midlane](https://novaramedia.com/contributor/tom-midlane/)\n\n### 26 August 2026\n\nTwo planned datacentres will produce more carbon emissions between them than oil and gas giant ExxonMobil’s entire annual UK output, new data shows.\n\nTheir gigantic carbon footprint underscores the “serious threat” datacentre construction poses to Britain’s climate goals, according to analysis first reported[ by the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/25/planned-datacentres-carbon-emissions-uk-exxonmobil).\n\nThe Wapseys Wood datacentre in Buckinghamshire and the Quest Park datacentre in Bedfordshire will use 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of power and generate more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions, according to analysis by non-profit Foxglove.\n\nBy comparison, fossil fuel multinational ExxonMobil emitted 3.9m tonnes in 2023, global energy thinktank Ember reported.\n\nAI datacentres require vast amounts of energy to run thousands of servers and cooling equipment around the clock.\n\nIn total, there are 315 datacentres in line to connect to the UK’s electricity grid – representing 73GW of demand, almost twice the amount of energy consumed at peak times across the whole country during winter.\n\nAs a result, Wapseys Wood and Quest Park datacentres are looking to construct their own gas-fired power stations on-site to bypass the long wait.\n\nLabour MP Toby Perkins, chair of the Commons environmental audit committee, called the analysis 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”.\n\nWhile a government spokesperson called the figures “misleading” since they were based on the notion that Wapseys Wood and Quest Park datacentre would run at full demand from day one, Foxglove’s head of communications Tom Hegarty said such assumptions were standard practice in the industry.\n\nThe two planned datacentres were among the first to be fast-tracked through the government’s nationally significant infrastructure project (NSIP) regime, bypassing local planning authorities – a move criticised as “insulating” projects from local scrutiny.\n\nOliver Hayes, head of policy at the campaign group Global Action Plan, said the two energy-hungry datacentre projects were “catastrophic for our carbon budgets”.\n\nSam Hunter-Jones, a lawyer with environmental law charity ClientEarth added: “The reality is that unchecked datacentre growth is making the transition away from fossil fuels harder, not easier.”\n\nExtreme weather, including a series of heatwaves and drought across England and Wales, have placed major stress on the UK’s energy supplies this summer with whistleblowers warning that the grid was becoming [“increasingly unmanageable”](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/jul/22/risking-blackouts-great-britain-grid-operator-neso-heatwave).\n\nTom Midlane is a freelance journalist.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil", "canonical_source": "https://novaramedia.com/2026/08/26/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil/", "published_at": "2026-08-26 10:39:41+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-26 10:44:11.835291+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy", "ai-ethics"], "entities": ["Wapseys Wood datacentre", "Quest Park datacentre", "ExxonMobil", "Foxglove", "Ember", "Toby Perkins", "Tom Hegarty", "ClientEarth"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/two-uk-datacentres-will-produce-more-emissions-than-exxonmobil.jsonld"}}