Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what consideration his Department has given to requiring new data centres seeking electricity network connections to assess opportunities to utilise waste heat.

The Department is looking at how waste heat from data centres can be used to support the development of large scale, strategic heat networks.

Through heat network zoning, certain buildings and heat sources, including data centres, can be required to connect to a network within set timeframes.

Additionally, the Green Heat Network Fund provides £195m p.a. in capital grants up to 2029–30 for low‑carbon heat networks in England. One supported project is a major new network in North-West London that will utilise data centre heat, powering 10,000 new homes and 250,000m² of commercial space.