Data Centre LIVE 2025: Simon Blackburn, MD at Green Mountain

In a keynote titled London East is the New West, Simon Blackburn, Managing Director at Green Mountain, took to the virtual stage at Data Centre LIVE to chart the evolution of London’s data centre landscape. 

With 15 years in the sector, Simon offered a compelling narrative that combined personal insight, market history and strategic forecasts – culminating in a clear call to shift investment and development eastward.

From modem screeches to hyperscale growth

Opening with a light nod to the screeching modems of the 1990s, Simon traced the city’s data infrastructure journey from early carrier hotels in the City of London to today’s hyperscale campuses. 

He explained how businesses once demanded colocation services close to headquarters, fuelling development in West London locations like Slough.

Through the 2000s and 2010s, smartphone adoption, digital media, and cloud computing drove rapid expansion. 

Operators scrambled to keep up, and the west became saturated with fibre-rich, high-power sites. 

By the 2020s, hyperscalers had taken hold, responsible for 90% of data demand, and the AI revolution added yet another layer of urgency. 

“AI adoption is accelerating exponentially, and every model needs data centres to run,” Simon said.

Yet that very growth has exposed a critical constraint: the west of London is out of room – and out of power.

Why London’s future is heading east

Simon explained that power grid upgrades in West London – particularly around sites like Slough – are now years away. 

Meanwhile, land availability has shrunk, prices have skyrocketed, and planning permission is increasingly difficult. 

“If you don’t already have power there, you’re going to be waiting a long time,” he said.

In contrast, East London offers:

• Readily available land at more affordable prices
• Power infrastructure with capacity and faster expansion timelines
• Established connectivity and ultra-low latency to Docklands
• Supportive planning environments and fewer constraints

Green Mountain’s Romford campus, for instance, has already secured planning and power for 30MW of expansion, with the first 14MW under construction now and the rest to follow. 

“We’re building speculatively – because demand is outpacing supply,” he said.

He also predicted the formation of new availability zones in East London, driven by shifting market demand and long-term infrastructure strategy. 

“There’s no reason East London can’t be the new West. It’s already happening,” he said.

Cooling, capacity and designing for AI

Simon went on to outline how AI is reshaping not just demand, but design parameters. 

With rack densities now exceeding 40kW, and some climbing to 100kW+, traditional air-cooled data halls are no longer sufficient. 

“Moore’s Law may be broken, but rack heat density is still climbing,” he noted.

Green Mountain has responded by designing its East London expansion for full flexibility. 

The new builds will support both traditional air cooling and next-gen liquid cooling, including direct-to-chip and immersion models.

 “We’ve worked with our partners to develop fit-out options that meet any density requirement,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that liquid cooling remains a work in progress.

“It’s more expensive to deploy and maintain, and retrofitting legacy sites is even harder. That’s why we’re designing for it from day one,” he noted

Simon also called for holistic thinking. 

“Higher-grade heat opens up heat recovery potential, but we need to consider the full lifecycle—materials, cooling systems, maintenance, everything,” he added.

Sovereignty, sustainability and strategy

Sustainability remains at the heart of Green Mountain’s strategy. 

In addition to 100% renewable energy sourcing, the company is phasing in HVO fuel to replace diesel in backup generation across all UK projects. 

“It’s becoming the industry norm—and it’s a big step toward emissions targets,” Simon said.

He also stressed the importance of data sovereignty, especially in AI applications. 

“Data is one of the most valuable commodities in the world, and it needs to be protected,” he said. 

UK laws, including GDPR and the Data Protection Act, require that data be held and processed under a compliant jurisdiction. That’s another reason why local infrastructure is so critical.

The final piece of the puzzle is long-term strategy. 

“We’ve got the planning, the power and the flexibility. And we’re backed by owners who are ready to invest,” Simon said. 

With customer satisfaction and uptime records to match, Green Mountain is positioning itself as a cornerstone of the next phase of London’s digital infrastructure.

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