About Data Centres
Powering everyday digital life
Data centres are a vital part of modern infrastructure. From streaming to online banking, NHS services, remote working and cloud storage, data centres packed with computer servers support our lives. They’re so essential they’re recognised by the UK Government as Critical National Infrastructure, alongside energy, transport and water networks.
Simple on the outside, highly secure buildings
From the outside, most data centres look like standard commercial or warehouse buildings. They’re not open to the public and generate very little day-to-day activity.
Inside, they’re carefully designed environments containing secure servers, backup power, cooling systems, and robust physical and cyber security. Everything is engineered to ensure reliability, resilience and safety.
A different kind of data centre
Not all data centres are the same. Large “hyperscale” facilities, operated by global technology companies, can be extensive in scale and use a lot of power and fresh water.
The proposed site near Melbourn is different. It’s a small-scale, local colocation data centre, comparable in size to a large agricultural barn.
The data centre will be powered 100 percent by renewable energy, 30 percent of which will come from a local solar farm.
If more solar farms are developed in the future nearby (which won’t be by us) our solar use could go up.
The majority of our cooling needs will be met by the heat network and we plan to use rainwater harvesting from roofs to top up our water storage tanks.
The site will support a range of organisations and businesses both locally and nationally, providing much needed computing power.
Our data centre will be built using funds from Octopus Energy Generation, one of Europe’s largest renewable energy investors. It will deliver waste heat for generations of Melbourn residents and be continually upgraded.
Before planning permission can be granted, the proposed data centre will need to demonstrate that it meets the local planning authority’s requirements regarding things like noise, traffic, lighting, and environmental impacts. Independent technical assessments will form part of the planning application, and the local authority will review these before making its decision.
Indicative design
Designed to do more
Data centre would be delivered by Deep Green as part of Melbourn Energy Superloop.
What makes our approach different is how we handle heat. All data centres produce heat as a by-product. Traditionally, this is wasted.
In Melbourn, our 50m x 30m data centre’s waste heat is captured and put to work, warming water held in Superloop’s network of pipes.
This approach helps to:
- Reduce carbon emissions
- Improve overall energy efficiency for users of the Superloop
- Cuts electricity use, lessening demand on the national grid
- Supports a quieter, more efficient operation
It turns a by-product into a resource — benefiting both the data centre and the local community.
Why Melbourn?
Melbourn is well suited to this type of infrastructure, with proximity to research and science organisations, growing businesses, and key services such as healthcare and education.
The proposal has been designed to support the local economy while fitting sensitively alongside the existing environment.
Supporting the digital economy and local need
This is not a large-scale tech campus or hyperscale data centre. It is a carefully designed, small-scale facility that will operate securely and unobtrusively, surrounded by extensive landscaping, with just seven car parking spaces.
The UK needs data centres, and we could all use more affordable energy bills. By joining the dots, we support essential digital services and the wider economy, and we also help Melbourn with the cost of living, by moving to efficient, future-proofed low-carbon heating.