Microsoft exits Essex AI data center project after grid setback

Microsoft has canceled its planned AI data center project with Nscale in Loughton, Essex, after a power supply delay pushed potential grid availability into the early-to-mid 2030s . The facility had been due to serve Microsoft Azure by early 2027. Key takeaways UK Power Networks told Nscale that sufficient electricity capacity might not arrive until the 2030s. The Essex plan called for 23,040 Nvidia chips. Nscale says its other Microsoft agreements remain intact. Microsoft’s exit leaves Essex site without its planned customer The Loughton facility was designed to deliver 50 megawatts of computing capacity to Microsoft Azure, using 23,040 Nvidia chips . UK Power Networks, the local grid operator, told Nscale that enough power might not be available until the early-to-mid 2030s—well beyond the original early 2027 target.

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