Nscale’s planned Loughton AI campus was announced with a target to deliver 23,040 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs in the first quarter of 2027. But reports published in September 2026 say the site may not have enough grid power until the early to mid-2030s. That timeline has not been publicly confirmed by UK Power Networks, and it is not a confirmed revised opening date.
What was planned for the Loughton campus?
Nscale and Microsoft announced the project on September 16, 2025. Nscale described it as the UK’s largest AI supercomputer when it goes live, with an initial 50 MW of AI capacity designed to scale to 90 MW. The company planned delivery of 23,040 NVIDIA GB300 GPUs in Q1 2027 and said the site would support Microsoft Azure services across the UK. These were announced plans, not operating capacity or a confirmed opening schedule. Nscale’s announcement also listed plans for up to 58,640 GPUs across UK deployments and a 300,000-GPU global ambition.
Nscale’s AI infrastructure page describes the Loughton design as a high-density campus with direct-liquid cooling, fibre connectivity, and plans for waste-heat and water reuse. Those are planned design features; they do not show that the campus is built or running.
What is the reported delay—and what is confirmed?
On September 24, 2026, The Guardian reported that the project could miss its planned 2027 debut, with sufficient electricity potentially unavailable until the mid-2030s. On September 29, Euronews reported an early-to-mid-2030s power timeline. Both publications attributed the underlying disclosure to the Morning Intelligence newsletter. The date is therefore a reported possibility, not a public UK Power Networks connection offer or an officially revised Nscale launch date. (The Guardian; Euronews.)
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UK Power Networks declined to comment on the specific project. In a general statement quoted by The Guardian, a spokesperson said: “In general, many datacentres, whilst they will connect to our distribution network, are awaiting works on the wider national electricity transmission network before they can begin operation.” No reviewed public document establishes a Loughton-specific connection date.
The distinction matters: the reports concern when enough power might be available, not a newly confirmed schedule for construction, GPU delivery, commissioning, or Azure service launch. The original Q1 2027 figure was a GPU delivery target, not a verified opening date.
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Why can a data centre be waiting on two parts of the grid?
A site can connect to a local distribution network yet still depend on work elsewhere on the national transmission system before it can draw the power it needs. UK Power Networks’ general comment describes that distinction, but it does not identify Loughton’s particular technical bottleneck or explain which works would govern its connection.
The broader UK queue is under pressure. In a 2026 announcement, the government said demand-connection applications had grown 460% in the six months to June 2025 and that some projects faced waits of up to 15 years. Those are national figures, not evidence of Loughton’s position in a queue or the reason for its reported timeline. The government said its proposed reforms were intended to address speculative applications and prioritize projects that can contribute to economic growth. (UK Government announcement.)
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Could Nscale bring power to the site another way?
The Guardian reported that Nscale remained committed to the project and was examining on-site generation and ways to accelerate the connection. The reports do not establish a chosen generation technology, implementation schedule, or secured interim power plan, so there is no confirmed alternative that would put the campus on its original timetable.
Separately, a National Grid and partner trial points to one possible way large computing loads could help manage grid stress: adjust demand when needed. In a December 2025 trial described in a March 2026 release, software reduced demand by up to 40% on a 96-GPU cluster. During a simulated stress event, it shed 30% of the load in roughly 30 seconds, and the cluster followed load-reduction requests for up to 10 hours. These are trial results for that cluster, not evidence that Nscale uses the system or that demand flexibility can replace Loughton’s grid connection. (National Grid trial announcement.)
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Is Loughton the same as Stargate UK?
No. The Loughton campus was announced by Nscale with Microsoft as a site intended to support Azure. Stargate UK is a separate, multi-site partnership involving Nscale, NVIDIA, and OpenAI. OpenAI said it would explore taking up to 8,000 GPUs in Q1 2026, potentially scaling to 31,000 over time; those plans do not establish that Loughton has power or that Stargate’s GPU plans are tied to this campus. (OpenAI’s Stargate UK announcement.)
Quick Recap
What to watch next
- A project-specific connection date or formal update from UK Power Networks or Nscale; none is established in the cited public material.
- Whether Nscale identifies a funded, scheduled on-site power plan or a concrete route to accelerating its grid connection.
- Separate dates for construction, power availability, GPU delivery, commissioning, and service launch. A change to one milestone does not automatically establish the others.
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