Essar Plans 1 GW Green-Powered Data Centre in the UK to Expand…

Sarah J · 2026-03-06T16:36:42.000Z

India’s Essar Group is planning a major expansion into digital infrastructure with a proposal to develop a 1-gigawatt data centre in the United Kingdom, powered by green energy. The plan was announced by Essar Group CEO Prashant Ruia, who highlighted the company’s growing focus on energy transition and sustainable technology investments. The project represents a significant international investment as Essar looks to combine its energy expertise with the rapidly growing demand for data infrastructure driven by artificial intelligence and cloud computing. According to Ruia, Essar is positioning digital infrastructure as a major new growth area for the conglomerate. The proposed UK facility will initially focus on power generation and the construction of buildings and base infrastructure, enabling global technology companies to deploy computing hardware and chips inside the facility. Major cloud providers such as Microsoft and Google are expected to install servers and computing equipment once the infrastructure is built. The data centre project is part of Essar’s broader strategy to align its investments with commercially viable green technologies. Ruia emphasised that energy transition remains a central theme for the group, but future investments will prioritise economically sustainable solutions rather than purely policy-driven initiatives. Essar already has a significant presence in the UK energy market and supplies a substantial share of fuel to the country’s economy, which the company aims to leverage as it expands into new infrastructure segments. The planned 1 GW facility would be one of the largest data centre projects in the region, reflecting the increasing demand for large-scale computing infrastructure driven by AI workloads, cloud services, and rising global data consumption. By combining green energy generation with hyperscale data centre infrastructure, Essar aims to position itself as a key player in the next generation of digital and sustainable infrastructure projects.

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Essar Plans 1 GW Green-Powered Data Centre in the UK to Expand… | SEINET