The BaseNewsThe Guardian
Microsoft pulls out of AI datacentre project in Essex over power supply concerns
According to the description, The Guardian reports that Microsoft has withdrawn from a large AI datacentre project at Loughton in Essex, developed by the British company Nscale, over concerns about power supplies. The project was announced in 2025, hailed by ministers as the UK's largest of its kind, and planned to open next year.
Why it matters
The same thing, for different readers.
For lawmakers
The Guardian reports that power supply concerns led Microsoft to leave a UK datacentre the government had promoted, a setback for ministers' AI infrastructure plans.
The record
- Questions
- How fast is AI advancing, and where is it heading? · What happens to work, income and the economy?
- People
- Gwyn Topham (Wrote it) · Aisha Down (Wrote it)
- What we read
- We have read only the description the publisher gives. No quotations until someone reads the source itself.
- Found by
- The Radar, run of October 19, 2026, via
the-guardian-ai(tier 2: a major outlet’s own reporting) - Cite this
- The Guardian, “Microsoft pulls out of AI datacentre project in Essex over power supply concerns”, October 18, 2026. Entry in the Ctrl AI Base, https://ctrlai.com/base/guardian-2026-10-18-microsoft-drops-essex-datacentre
Our notesLight lane: from the triage excerpt only; Microsoft's own stated reason and the project's size were not checked.