Venessa Moffat, Executive Director, The DCA – Data Centre Alliance, argues that NESO’s flexibility archetypes must explicitly include data centres – or the UK risks sidelining one of its most controllable, scalable sources of clean system support.
The UK’s power transmission system is changing at unprecedented speed. The Clean Flexibility Roadmap sets out a national mission to unlock up to 66GW of clean flexibility by 2030, enabling the transition to a smart, decarbonised, and secure electricity system. NESO’s Markets Strategy and Routes to Market Review build the practical pathways to get there. Yet one major opportunity remains missing from this strategy: data centres.
Their absence reflects the ongoing definition of major-user archetypes. NESO is still defining the archetypes of major non-domestic energy users that will form the backbone of future flexibility markets. But the risk is simple: if data centres are left outside these archetypes when the framework crystallises, the UK could overlook one of the most advanced, controllable and scalable sources of clean flexibility available to the system today – while also sidelining a sector that may be critical to the development of the UK’s digital economy.
Digital infrastructure is no longer a passive load
Data centres sit at the intersection of two national priorities: clean power and digital growth. They host AI, cloud, defence, fintech, healthcare analytics and every sector that depends on digital infrastructure. Their power demand is rising rapidly as AI workloads increase. But unlike many traditional industrial users, data centres offer highly sophisticated controls, operational telemetry and automation. They are, in effect, digitally native loads with enormous potential for system support.
This means flexibility does not rely on running diesel generators; a misconception that must be retired. NESO has been clear: future flexibility must be clean, digitally enabled, and backed by low-carbon assets. And the good news is that the new technical specification for flexible connections is already available for new data centre projects. Data centres can now be designed from day one to provide clean, dispatchable system value.
Data centres can deliver flexibility through:
- Workload shifting, aligning AI and compute-intensive tasks with periods of low-carbon generation
- On-site battery energy storage systems (BESS), which increasingly support grid-forming and reserve services
- Co-location with renewables, storage and heat-reuse systems, enhancing whole-system efficiency
These will require clarity, market access and appropriately constructed technical pathways.
Why clarity on archetypes matters
NESO’s ongoing work to define non-domestic user archetypes is essential – it sets the foundation for who can participate, how they are valued, and the services they can offer. But this classification must capture the scale and uniqueness of digital infrastructure. If data centres fall between categories, or are treated like generic commercial buildings, the UK will fail to harness a resource capable of delivering MW-scale flexibility far earlier and at lower cost than many other sectors.
In a world where clean flexibility is becoming a competitive advantage, taxonomy matters.
Unlocking system value without distorting operations
For data centres to participate fully, three things must be clear:
- How much flexibility they are expected to provide. This must be proportionate, predictable and aligned with their operational envelopes. NESO’s new specifications already give a solid baseline, but the archetype definition process must ensure data centres are not given unrealistic and commercially unacceptable obligations.
- What they receive in return. Flexible connection agreements, lower energy pricing, improved curtailment terms, reduced connection times, and well-structured market revenue streams should be explicit. The economics must be transparent and coherent, and the business case needs to stack up.
- Safety around uptime for primary operations. Participation must never compromise critical service continuity (the primary reason data centres exist). Any flexibility obligations need clear guardrails ensuring that uptime, resilience and service-level commitments are fully protected.
This clarity would create investment confidence and enable energy-aligned data centre development across the UK’s regions, including those seeking AI growth-zone status.
This is an opportunity for national leadership
Countries around the world are grappling with the twin rise of AI and electricity demand. Few have a coherent plan to integrate data centres into their flexibility design. This is where the UK can currently take a lead, but we are in an increasingly competitive landscape, with other nations also working hard to attract digital investment to their shores.
By formally recognising data centres as a distinct archetype in the Clean Flexibility Strategy, the UK can:
- Attract global investment into clean, grid-supportive digital infrastructure
- Embed flexibility ‘by design’ into new developments
- Reduce pressure on constrained networks
- Accelerate clean power delivery at lower system cost
- Build an international model for digital-energy integration
The Clean Flexibility Roadmap is a strong foundation. But its success depends on embracing all major clean-flexibility contributors. The technical frameworks already exist. The system needs the capacity. And the UK has the chance to set a global precedent and take a technical lead.
Including data centres is not optional – it is strategic. If the UK acts now, it can lead in aligning digital infrastructure with a clean, flexible, resilient energy system underpinning a robust and growing digital economy.
