Data centre Planning and Power: Investor considerations for navigating a complex landscape

In all major and emerging markets planning is at the fore of data centre build projects meaning the navigation of local regimes remains a huge challenge for investors and developers.

Investors may be one step removed from site acquisition and planning consent but the developer teams responsible for winning the race for the best sites face a fragmented environment where grid access and zoning are in the gift of inconsistent local government decision making.

While national Governments attempt to get investors excited with aspirations for building AI economies these rarely match the realities of gaining data centre planning consent at a local level.

In planning terms the Western Northern hemisphere has entered a new paradigm where Governments move at different speeds. (See below) 

The US is seeking to rapidly deregulate planning at a federal level. The UK is attempting to redraw its planning system (See UK US Trump Starmer $150bn tech deal announcement) while Europe remains fragmented.

The US, UK and Europe have made similar noises about AI infrastructure planning and data centre development. All are desperate to attract digital infrastructure investment for grid improvements and data centre campuses. 
The common overlap across territories is where national aspirations to quickly build AI infrastructure come up against ‘slower the better’ powerful local resistance and municipal planning control where stiff opposition is common both locally and from national pressure groups.

In almost every territory it is local governments that wield true power to grant or deny consent. From a planning perspective, Europe and the UK remain largely dictated to by existing planning regimes – where the details may differ – the themes are common.

US planning 
In the US a presidential executive order issued in July 2025 ripped up the playbook in a bonfire of planning regulation to encourage 100MW+ data centre builds on Federal land. The aim is opening up land and power for AI campus developments. 

The Donald Trump White House “Accelerating Federal Permitting of Data Centre Infrastructure” order stated qualifying projects must have at least $500 million in capital expenditure committed. 

It says a Data Centre Project means a facility that requires greater than 100 megawatts (MW) of new load dedicated to AI inference, training, simulation, or synthetic data generation and included transmission lines, natural gas pipelines, substations, natural gas turbines and nuclear power equipment.

Developers welcomed the move to remove blockers such as grid delays and local resistance, with one commentator saying the order could see developers potentially skipping the full Environmental Impact Statement that can add years to timelines.

Back in the UK
Since coming to power in July 2024 the UK’s Labour administration launched an industrial strategy and an AI strategy with promises to ease the way for more data centres by undoing decades - if not centuries - of planning law restrictions.

Its ‘Invest 2035: the UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy’ identified digital infrastructure as critical to the country saying modern data centres contribute to future-proofing the UK economy. 

However, while it wants to build upon London as Europe’s largest data centre market, due to the parliamentary nature of UK government this is not happening at the same pace as the US. 

Among the questions for UK investors is whether planning regime changes are enough to see significant capital deployment move beyond the capital and its surroundings.  

Site tracker DC Byte says the North East of England and the Humber region, has 1.2GW of data centre capacity planned.

This includes the Blackstone owned QTS $10bn campus on the site of a former power station in Cambois, Northumberland which cleared planning permission in March 2025.  Further south the Humber Tech Park, south of Grimsby in Humberside is a 500MW campus (386MW of IT power) that cleared planning in 2024. 

One initiative is the encouragement of AI growth zones. AI growth zones are largely regionally targeted to parts of the UK which suffered de-industrialisation over the last four decades. 

The UK Government AI growth zone web site is open for applications. It says those seeking Government assistance for a growth zone development must have access to at least 500MW of power capacity by 2030.

‘Applicants must provide: A confirmation letter from National Grid, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) (or the relevant transmission operator) setting out a secured connection agreement or formally allocated capacity’ and demonstrate sufficient access to water to support at least 500MW of AI infrastructure and a minimum of 100 acres of land available for the construction of AI infrastructure by 2028.

From a planning perspective sites must either have existing planning permission, or a robust and deliverable plan to secure full planning consent by 2028.

But beyond these mega campuses some investors remain wary. Without significant incentives and guarantees (for grid connections – waiting times currently in the 10-15 year range) there remain questions about the market demand for locating medium sized data centres in parts of northern England.  

In planning terms the big question is: What will change? 

Having passed through the House of Commons in July the UK’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill may pass its next step to become law in the Autumn when it is debated in the House of Lords.  

Its aims include ‘a faster and more certain consenting process for critical infrastructure.’ However, to get to this stage the bill has already been significantly watered down. This generated headlines such as ‘Labour has given in to blockers.’ 

Developers are concerned about changes to mitigation for nature impact following pressure from powerful nature and wildlife groups such as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

But UK investors and developers can find encouragement in that the positive changes to planning for nationally significant infrastructure remain largely in place. 

A look at what’s coming in the UK’s planning policy framework is useful for investors. The UK’s Data Centre Alliance’s report – UK Data Centre Legislation Horizon Scan Report (2025-2027) highlighted current and forthcoming planning laws:

It says the current National Planning Policy Framework influences where and how data centres can be built while highlighting how the existing framework shows how policies vary between local authorities (e.g., Slough, London, Manchester).

In terms of what is coming the Planning Policy Framework is undergoing reform with anticipated updates for infrastructure zoning and sustainability which the DCA says ‘may create opportunity or friction in strategic land allocations for DCs.’

There are encouraging signs for developers and investors with the Government’s Brownfield Development Push which could lead to incentives and faster planning for using brownfield/industrial sites which potentially ‘supports urban edge data centre development.’ The fully DCA Report can be found here.

Germany
As Europe’s largest economy Germany provides a useful template on what investors need to consider.

Isabel Strecker, is a lawyer based in Germany with global law firm Eversheds. 

Here she details the key considerations for investors and their developer partners who are  seeking to “Navigate Complexity and Opportunity across: Germany’s Data Centre Planning Landscape.” 

“Germany remains one of Europe’s most dynamic data centre markets, with Frankfurt, Berlin and the Rhineland region leading the charge. However, the path to delivering new capacity is increasingly shaped by a complex interplay of regulation, infrastructure constraints and regional disparities,” she says.

Pointing to a Regulatory Environment where  National Ambition Meets Local Complexity Ms Strecker lays out some of the legislative complexity of developing data centres in Germany. 

She points to national measures that align with Germany’s climate goals adding layers of complexity to planning and operations. Compliance requires early integration into project design and can significantly affect timelines and costs, she says.

Germany has introduced ambitious sustainability mandates through the Energy Efficiency Act (EnEfG) which include strict Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) benchmarks and reuse of waste heat, with rising thresholds for Energy Reuse Factor (ERF) from 2026 onward.
In terms of planning challenges she cites: Grid Access, Zoning, and Bureaucracy

In major data centre hubs like Frankfurt and Berlin, grid connection requests exceed current capacity by several gigawatts. The traditional “first come, first served” model is being reconsidered, but uncertainty remains.

Zoning and permitting are handled at the municipal level, leading to inconsistencies across regions. Some cities, like Frankfurt, have introduced restrictive master plans that limit data centre development to specific areas. While claiming to intend managing land use and energy demand, these policies risk stifling growth and pushing investment to surrounding municipalities.

Planning beyond the tier 1 national markets
Europe as an economic bloc is also making noise about removing barriers to AI infrastructure investment at scale. But developers know it is what happens at a national and regional level that is significant. 

Even before dealing with local government, national planning regimes by a country by country in Europe basis present a hugely complicated picture. 

In Spain, a farmers' movement called Tu Nube Seca Mi Río has organized to protest against data centre builds saying ‘interests of billionaire owners will always take precedence over the interests of poorer farmers.’

The emergence of Milan, Berlin and Warsaw as secondary markets began several years ago. Today there is attention on tertiary markets with central Europe being spoken about as having potential. However, countries such as the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria continue to suffer through outdated grid infrastructure and a lack of policy support. 

Ireland is and will continue to be a country loser for data centre growth. Public opposition to planning applications has pushed the Hyperscalers to other European markets. Elsewhere Switzerland and Austria are rarely mentioned as prospective buoyant data centre markets due to lack of incentives, planning constraints and no desire to accommodate GW size campuses. 

Conclusion
At a high level there exist a set of commonalities across planning and regulations for data centres across nation states. 

These are the friction points between national aspirations to encourage digital infrastructure and investment and local planning regimes which are complex, bureaucratic and inconsistent.

Efforts to attract investment and alienating voters by loosening planning constraints is a fine balancing act for governments. 

Sector growth means myriad location choices for investors – especially in Europe. The race may not always be to the quick but to those who smartly navigate planning regimes for grid access and permitting. 

Barry Gross, Partner and co-lead of data centres sector at Simmons & Simmons says, ‘It is fair to say that across multiple jurisdictions important steps have been made to improve processes on both planning and power. There is still a long way to go if we are going to deliver on the capacity needed to meet the projected demand in data centres over the next 10 years.’