"Colt Data Centre Services has secured approval to invest £2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in three hyperscale data centers at its Hayes Digital Park campus in west London. The expansion, approved by Hillingdon Council, will add 97 MW of IT capacity to the site near Heathrow Airport - more than doubling its total capacity to 160 MW. Construction is slated to begin mid-2026, with the first facility going live in early 2029."
"The new facilities - designated London 6, 7, and 8 - will run entirely on renewable energy through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), Colt said. Under planning restrictions, backup generators can operate for a maximum of 15 hours annually. Grid connection via high-voltage supply is scheduled for October 2027. Colt positions the project as support the UK government's industrial strategy, strengthening digital infrastructure for the AI economy - one of the obsessions of the current administration."
"The company, which operates across Europe and Asia Pacific, plans to integrate a district heating network to channel waste heat from the datacenters to local businesses and residential buildings. However, some studies have cast doubt on the value of such schemes, as they often need complex infrastructure, and it can be difficult to make accurate projections on how much waste heat a datacenter will produce in future."
Colt Data Centre Services secured approval to invest £2.5 billion in three hyperscale data centers at Hayes Digital Park in west London. The expansion adds 97 MW of IT capacity, more than doubling campus capacity to 160 MW. Construction will start mid-2026 and the first facility is expected online in early 2029. The facilities, designated London 6, 7 and 8, will run entirely on renewable energy via a Power Purchase Agreement, with backup generators limited to 15 hours annually. Grid connection via high-voltage supply is scheduled for October 2027. Plans include a district heating network to channel waste heat, an Aecom-developed Innovation Hub, and community-focused event spaces. Some studies raise doubts about the complexity and future accuracy of waste-heat projections for district heating schemes. Colt frames the development as strengthening digital infrastructure for the AI economy.
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