This Week's Top Five Stories in the Data Centre Industry

Will UK Gov Planning Reforms Speed Up Data Centre Delivery?

The UK Government is changing planning rules that affect major infrastructure projects, with data centres among the sectors expected to benefit from a faster route to development.

Under changes introduced through the Planning and Infrastructure Act (PIA), mandatory pre-application consultation requirements for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) are being removed in July 2026.

Instead, developers receive earlier technical support and what the government describes as "meaningful advice" from the Planning Inspectorate before submitting applications.

The UK Government says the reforms could reduce planning timelines for key infrastructure projects by up to 12 months and save developers £1bn (US$1.335bn) during the current Parliament, which ends in August 2029.

Inside AVK's UK Manufacturing Hub for AI Infrastructure

No data centre can operate without reliable power.

With that in mind, AVK has confirmed plans to open its first standalone UK manufacturing facility dedicated to producing modular power systems for hyperscale data centres.

The £3m (US$4m) investment will see the company establish a manufacturing site in Haydock, within the Liverpool City Region, where it will assemble its low and medium voltage PowerPods.

Inside TeraWulf's Anthropic Data Centre Deal and AJV Exit

Terawulf has announced two major moves that strengthen its position as a data centre infrastructure owner.

The company has signed a 20-year lease agreement with Anthropic for its purpose-built AI campus at the Justified Data site in Hawesville, Kentucky.

It is also selling its majority interest in the Abernathy Joint Venture (AJV), allowing it to recycle capital into projects where it retains direct ownership and operational control.

Meta Reveals C$13bn Plans for its First Canadian Data Centre

Meta has broken ground on its first data centre in Canada, expanding its global infrastructure network to 33 facilities. 

Located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, the new 1GW hyperscale campus is optimised to handle AI innovations and support core corporate products.

The development represents an investment of more than C$13bn and will help bring to life technologies used by billions of people to connect, find communities, grow businesses and experience wearable devices.

Rachel Peterson, VP of Data Centers at Meta, says: "I'm proud to add Canada to our global portfolio and even more proud to call Sturgeon County and Alberta home."

AWS Backs the UK's First Data Centre HNC Programme

Amazon Web Services is backing a new education initiative designed to strengthen the UK's talent pipeline from the classroom into the data hall.

Harrow, Richmond and Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) has launched what it says is the UK's first Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Data Centre Operations alongside a Level 4 Data Centre Engineer programme, developed in collaboration with Amazon.

The employer-sponsored courses are free for students and are designed to equip learners with the practical and technical skills required to work in modern data centres.