Data Centres in Wales: Capacity, Newport and the South Wales AI Growth Zone
How much capacity Wales has, where it is, how large the proposals are, and what a rooftop array yields in Newport and Cardiff.
Wales had about 154 MW of colocation data centre capacity in 2024, the most of any nation or region outside London, according to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (London had 1,048 MW). Most of it sits around Newport and Cardiff. Planned schemes are far larger: the Welsh Parliament's research service lists a 200 MW proposal in Newport, around 600 MW in Bridgend, two Cardiff schemes of 148 MW and 150 MW, and 349 MW on Anglesey. South Wales is now an AI Growth Zone.
How much data centre capacity does Wales have?
DSIT, Estimate of data centre capacity: Great Britain 2024 estimates 154 MW of colocation IT power in Wales in autumn 2024, about a tenth of Great Britain's 1.6 GW total. The estimate covers colocation facilities only, uses maximum rated IT load rather than electricity drawn, and was rounded by DSIT to avoid false precision. Enterprise data centres are excluded, so the true figure is higher.
| Region | Colocation IT power (MW), autumn 2024 |
|---|---|
| London | 1,048 |
| Wales | 154 |
| South East | 128 |
| South West | 53 |
| North West | 52 |
| East | 44 |
| Scotland | 30 |
| North East | 17 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 16 |
| West Midlands | 15 |
| East Midlands | 9 |
Source: DSIT, Estimate of data centre capacity: Great Britain 2024, published 1 May 2025. Regions are ITL1/NUTS1; Northern Ireland is not covered. The UK-wide picture is on the UK data centre map.
Newport and Cardiff: where the capacity is
The Newport campus at Imperial Park, now operated by Vantage as CWL1, has been operational since 2010 and is described by its operator as one of Europe's largest data centre campuses, with electricity matched to 100% certified renewable energy (Vantage, 13 August 2026). It began as the Next Generation Data (NGD) conversion of a former LG factory of about 750,000 sq ft (Computerworld). Planning documents for a further building describe 24,000 sq m with ten data halls and 80 MW (DCD). Published campus totals range from tens to 180 MW depending on what is counted, so quote the scope with any figure.
In August 2026 Nebius agreed to lease high-density capacity at CWL1, which Vantage described as the first announced commercial commitment in the South Wales AI Growth Zone.
The pipeline is bigger than the estate
- Newport: one proposed scheme of 200 MW, larger than Wales's entire 2024 capacity.
- Cardiff: two proposals of 148 MW and 150 MW.
- Bridgend: a proposal of around 600 MW.
- Anglesey: a proposal of 349 MW.
Source: Senedd Research, 31 July 2026. Proposals are applications, not capacity; many will not be built at the stated size.
AI Growth Zones and the grid
Wales has two AI Growth Zones, North Wales and South Wales. The UK Government expects about £10 billion of investment in the South Wales zone, which it says could harness over 1 GW by the early 2030s. For scale, 1 GW is about 13% of Wales's total electricity generation capacity of 7.9 GW in 2024. NESO held around 173 grid connection requests for new data centres in May 2026, over 100 GW across the UK queue, and Ofgem has said there are too many data centres in the queue to connect (all per Senedd Research, 31 July 2026). The same research note says data centre electricity consumption in south-west England and Wales doubled between 2020 and 2024 (DESNZ). Government has published a power plan for the South Wales zone and none yet for North Wales; both are set out with the other three zones on our AI Growth Zones page.
Planning is unsettled: Welsh planning policy does not currently mention data centres explicitly, unlike the frameworks in England and Scotland. South Wales is served by National Grid Electricity Distribution (NGED).
What Wales means for on-site solar
Modelled rooftop yield is 935 kWh per kWp a year at Newport and 933 at Cardiff for a south-facing flat roof tilted 10 degrees with 14% system losses (PVGIS 5.2 (EU Joint Research Centre)), about the same as Slough (928) and 14% above Edinburgh (816). Campus-scale roofs are the opportunity: the existing Newport buildings are large, flat and lightly obstructed, and the load is continuous, so nearly every kilowatt-hour is self-consumed. The limit is the one that applies everywhere: a rooftop array covers a small share of a hall's load (about 2% for 1 MWp on a 5 MW hall, by simple arithmetic) and does not shorten a grid queue.
Next steps: the Welsh city guides solar panels for data centres in Newport and in Cardiff, G99 for data centres and data centre solar costs.
Frequently asked questions
How much data centre capacity does Wales have?
DSIT estimated 154 MW of colocation data centre IT power in Wales in autumn 2024, the highest outside London (1,048 MW) and about a tenth of Great Britain's 1.6 GW. The estimate excludes enterprise data centres.
Where are Wales's data centres?
Most of the capacity is around Newport, where the Vantage CWL1 campus (formerly Next Generation Data) at Imperial Park has operated since 2010, and Cardiff. Planned schemes are proposed in Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend and Anglesey.
What is the South Wales AI Growth Zone?
A UK Government designation for sites along the M4 corridor from Newport to Bridgend. The government expects about £10 billion of private investment and says the zone could harness over 1 GW by the early 2030s. Nebius's August 2026 lease at Vantage's Newport campus was described as the first commercial commitment in it.
Does Welsh planning policy cover data centres?
The Welsh Parliament's research service reports that Welsh planning policy does not currently mention data centres explicitly, unlike the planning frameworks in England and Scotland. Check the current position with the local planning authority.
How much electricity does a solar panel produce in Newport?
PVGIS 5.2 models 935 kWh per kWp a year at Newport for a south-facing flat roof tilted 10 degrees with 14% system losses, and 933 at Cardiff, compared with 928 at Slough and 816 in Edinburgh.
Thinking about solar for a Welsh data centre roof?
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