A report published September 29, 2026, said UK Power Networks had told Nscale that sufficient grid electricity for its planned Loughton AI campus might not be available until the 2030s. Nscale had announced an initial deployment of 23,040 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs, with delivery planned for Q1 2027.
Why grid power is the issue
UK Power Networks is the local network operator. It reportedly pointed to work needed on the wider national transmission network as a factor in the timetable for sufficient electricity at the site. National Grid maintains the wider transmission network in England and Wales, while NESO is the national system operator.
What Nscale announced for Loughton
Nscale announced the Loughton campus with Microsoft on September 16, 2025. Its plan calls for 50 MW of initial AI capacity, scalable to 90 MW, and an initial installation of 23,040 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs, with delivery planned for Q1 2027. Nscale said the facility would support Microsoft Azure services across the UK.
Nscale’s reported options
Nscale is reportedly considering on-site power generation and discussing ways to accelerate the grid connection with UK Power Networks.
