Green Mountain to start data centre expansion in London

Data centres are crucial infrastructure, storing and processing the data that makes our digital lives possible. Without them, our ability to connect with others, access information, and conduct business would be severely limited.

Data centres are also essential for driving innovation. They are the backbone of cloud computing, which allows businesses and individuals to access computing power and storage on demand, and of artificial intelligence (AI), which is being used to develop new products and services.

Expansion in the UK market

Norwegian data centre company, Green Mountain, has started construction on a new 14MW expansion at its LON1-East campus in Romford, near London. The expansion is part of the company's plans to increase its capacity in the UK market.

The first phase of the expansion is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2025. The campus has the potential to be expanded with an additional 16MW in the future. The project will involve the construction of three new data halls, each capable of supporting 7MW of IT load, within an existing building at the site.

In addition to this initial phase, Green Mountain has secured planning permission for the development of an additional 16MW of data centre capacity on an adjacent plot of land. This build-to-suit facility will provide customers with the flexibility to customise their data centre space to meet their specific needs.

The expansion at LON1-East underscores Green Mountain's commitment to providing its customers with high-quality, low-carbon data centre solutions. The campus is strategically located to serve the growing demand for data centre capacity in the London region and beyond.

The rapid growth of the UK data centre market

Simon Blackburn, Managing Director of Green Mountain says: “We are delighted to begin expanding the existing operational site to bring additional capacity to market.

“The unique location coupled with a strong team experienced in both building and operating highly secure data centres with 100% availability, makes this a fantastic site for customers looking for low latency connectivity, and easy access to London and with an opportunity to expand to 30MW including build to suit options in a single campus.”

London is a major hub for data centres due to its strong economy, well-developed infrastructure, and access to a large pool of skilled labour. The UK data centre market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years as more and more businesses rely on cloud computing and other digital services.

“This is a true milestone in our international expansion. London is an extremely important data centre hub and a must-have location for many international companies,” says Svein Atle Hagaseth, CEO of Green Mountain. “Our aim is to gradually expand our footprint in several international markets, and London is an ideal location to continue executing this strategy.”

Powered entirely by renewable energy

The expansion is powered entirely by certified renewable energy, ensuring that the electricity used to operate the data centres comes from sources such as solar, wind, or hydropower. This commitment to renewable energy eliminates the reliance on fossil fuels and minimises the carbon footprint of the data centres.

Green Mountain is aiming for a Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.2 for the new data halls, which represents a significant improvement over the industry average of 1.5. A lower PUE indicates a more efficient use of energy, implying that the data centres consume less power for a given amount of IT processing.

For backup power generation, Green Mountain is replacing diesel with hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel. HVO is derived from renewable sources like vegetable oil and has similar properties to diesel, but it produces up to 90% fewer CO2 emissions. This switch to HVO further reduces the carbon footprint of the data centres.

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