TL;DR
- European detour: Stargate is now weighing UK, French, and German sites after Texas permitting delays.
- Policy bait: The UK’s AI Opportunities Action Plan promises six‑month permits and 100 % capital allowances for AI megaprojects.
- Megawatt headache: National Grid warns some data centers wait 15 years for a plug; reforms will cull “zombie” projects hogging capacity.
- 3 GW gulp: One hyperscale campus can draw more power than Manchester’s peak demand.
- Jobs & chips: A UK win could anchor advanced‑chip supply lines and tens of thousands of high‑pay roles.
SoftBank’s mega–data‑center dream meets Keir Starmer’s red‑tape bonfire, a 15‑year grid queue, and jealous rivals in Paris and Berlin.
What Exactly Is Stargate?
Stargate is a $500 b network of 20 AI data centers backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and UAE‑based MGX.
Construction started in Abilene, Texas, but new state laws demanding extra grid safeguards threaten to delay later phases by up to two years. That wobble sent SoftBank chair Masayoshi Son shopping for European soil.
Why Britain Looks Tempting
Keir Starmer’s January AI Opportunities Action Plan sets up “AI Growth Zones,” slashes local‑permit wait times to six months, and offers 100 % first‑year capital allowances on plant and machinery.
A Skills England fund adds fresh talent, while fast‑track visas keep overseas ML engineers happy. The English‑language talent pool—Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial—ticks SoftBank’s labour box.
The UK’s Gridlock Reality Check
Policy is sexy; electrons are scarce. National Grid ESO says connection queues stretch to 2035 for some hyperscale bids.
The regulator’s April reform pauses new applications, ejects speculative projects, and reshuffles the line to favour “shovel‑ready” AI and renewable builds.
Even so, Microsoft’s £2.5 b Welsh campus still faces an 11‑year wait.
Stargate’s appetite—~3 GW per campus—would equal about 2 % of the entire UK grid at peak.
Starmer’s answer is a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) linked directly to data‑center estates, fast‑tracked under emergency planning powers.
Yet first SMR power isn’t expected until 2032.
Rival Bids: Paris vs. Berlin
France waves nuclear surplus and cheaper grid tariffs; Germany trumpets wind power and low land cost. But neither owns the UK’s deep AI labour stack nor its legal system that US investors understand.
SoftBank reportedly wants a revenue‑share clause on any surplus compute—something Treasury officials might concede to land the deal.
Timeline and Fallout
Insiders expect a European short‑list by Q3 2025. If London wins, expect a surge in chip‑packaging plants, AI‑specific apprenticeship schemes, and immediate pressure on National Grid to accelerate nuclear approvals.
Should the UK lose, Westminster will face heat for promising “AI Growth Zones” without the juice to power them.