.svg)
A UK court has allowed campaigners to challenge government approval for a large data centre planned just outside London, raising concerns about its climate impact.
The government approved the 90-megawatt hyperscale data centre in Buckinghamshire last year after the local council rejected the proposal. However, digital rights group Foxglove and environmental charity Global Action Plan argue that ministers failed to properly assess the project’s electricity use and its effect on climate change.
Demand for data centres has surged worldwide since the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, as governments and investors back generative AI technologies that require vast amounts of power. The campaigners say the government focused too narrowly on office-related energy use and did not adequately consider the much higher electricity needed to run and cool computer servers.
Developer Greystoke Land maintains the approval was lawful and opposed the legal challenge. But the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told the High Court that permission was granted based on climate mitigation measures that were not later secured.
On Thursday, the High Court granted permission for the case to proceed, with a full hearing expected later this year. The groups say this is the first legal challenge in Britain targeting a hyperscale data centre.
