Data Centres in Manchester: Capacity, Operators and Grid Position
What the government estimate says, why directory figures disagree, what is being built, and what a rooftop array yields at Trafford Park.
The North West had about 52 MW of colocation data centre capacity in 2024, roughly 3% of Great Britain's 1.6 GW, according to DSIT. Manchester is the region's hub, but published figures for the city vary widely because trackers count different things: Baxtel lists 31 facilities and 32 MW, while a Greater Manchester Combined Authority figure cited by Datacentres.com is about 30 operational facilities. The big numbers are in the pipeline, led by a 1.4 GW energy park at Carrington.
How much capacity does Manchester have?
DSIT, Estimate of data centre capacity: Great Britain 2024 puts the North West at 52 MW of colocation IT power in autumn 2024, against 1,048 MW in London, 154 MW in Wales and 30 MW in Scotland. It is the largest figure in the north of England: Yorkshire and the Humber has 16 MW and the North East 17 MW. DSIT's estimate is for the whole region and excludes enterprise data centres, so Manchester city's share is smaller.
Directory sites give different answers because each defines a facility and a megawatt differently. Baxtel lists 31 Manchester facilities, 32 MW and 21 providers, including Equinix, Digital Realty, Pulsant, iomart, Kao Data and AtlasEdge. Datacentres.com, updated at the end of September 2026, uses DSIT's 52 MW for the region and about 30 operational facilities attributed to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (April 2026). Treat any single Manchester number as scope-dependent.
What is being built or proposed?
- Future Point, Carrington: a 1.4 GW energy park being developed by Eclipse Power Optimise and Carlton Power, with a bilateral grid connection due in 2028 that, according to the developers, needs no upstream reinforcement (Data Centre Review, 29 July 2025). It is a power supply for data centres, not a data centre.
- Kao Data, Stockport (KMAN-01): listed as the only Greater Manchester data centre under construction, an estimated 33 MW with operation expected in Q3 2027 (Datacentres.com, estimate).
The grid position
The distribution network operator for Greater Manchester is Electricity North West (ENWL), with National Grid Electricity Transmission above it. Datacentres.com reports grid connection waits of over three years in Greater Manchester, citing the law firm BCLP. Nationally, NESO held around 173 connection requests for new data centres in May 2026, over 100 GW, and Ofgem has said there are too many to connect (Senedd Research, 31 July 2026). A developer with its own bilateral connection, like Future Point, is the exception.
What Manchester means for on-site solar
Modelled rooftop yield at Trafford Park is 826 kWh per kWp a year for a south-facing flat roof tilted 10 degrees with 14% system losses (PVGIS 5.2 (EU Joint Research Centre)), about 11% below Slough (928) and 2% above Edinburgh (816). Large flat roofs on industrial-park buildings suit arrays, and a flat 24/7 load self-consumes nearly everything generated. Scale still decides the value: 1 MWp produces about 826 MWh a year, around 2% of the energy used by a hall averaging 5 MW (illustrative arithmetic).
See the Manchester solar guide at solar panels for data centres in Manchester, G99 for data centres, data centre solar costs and the full UK data centre map.
Frequently asked questions
How many data centres are there in Manchester?
There is no official count. Baxtel lists 31 Manchester facilities, and Datacentres.com cites about 30 operational facilities attributed to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (April 2026). Counts differ by definition.
How much data centre capacity does the North West have?
DSIT estimated 52 MW of colocation data centre IT power in the North West in autumn 2024, about 3% of Great Britain's 1.6 GW. It excludes enterprise data centres.
Who operates data centres in Manchester?
Baxtel lists 21 providers in Manchester, including Equinix, Digital Realty, Pulsant, iomart, Kao Data and AtlasEdge. No complete public register exists, so check operator websites.
Who is the network operator for Manchester data centres?
Electricity North West (ENWL) is the distribution network operator for Greater Manchester, with National Grid Electricity Transmission above it. Large new data centre loads usually need both.
How much does a solar panel produce in Manchester?
PVGIS 5.2 models 826 kWh per kWp a year at Trafford Park for a south-facing flat roof tilted 10 degrees with 14% losses, compared with 928 at Slough.
Thinking about solar for a Manchester data centre roof?
Four short steps. This site is a publisher, not an installer. We read every enquiry and reply by email.