Microsoft Cancels GPU Lease At Nscale's Essex AI Data Center
A grid operator's power notice, not a change in AI demand, is what broke a project billed by Keir Starmer as a step toward UK AI leadership, and the chip lease was the load-bearing contract.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
Microsoft has canceled its lease for 23,000 NVIDIA AI chips and withdrawn from Nscale's planned AI data center in Rafton, Essex. UK Power Networks told Nscale it cannot supply sufficient power until the 2030s, pushing operation from a 2027 target to the 2030s at the earliest. Microsoft was the only publicly announced major customer. Nscale says it is weighing alternative power sources and other UK sites.
The power constraint came from UK Power Networks, which told Nscale it could not supply enough electricity until the 2030s. The site was originally slated to open in 2027; as of March 2026 it was still a materials storage yard.
Microsoft's UK commitment was announced in 2025 at 22 billion pounds, timed to Donald Trump's state visit. The Rafton project was part of that package. Nscale says it is looking at alternative power sources at Rafton and other sites in the country, and that other Microsoft contracts are unaffected. The two companies are also building in Norway.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- GIGAZINE Microsoftがイギリス最大級のAIデータセンター計画から撤退