Status	Stage 1 Research and Engagement Underway
Start date	October 2026
Finish date	December 2027

Data centres and AI compute in Wales

We are examining what the growth of data centres and AI could mean for Wales, bringing together technical evidence, infrastructure and professional expertise, and the views of communities to inform independent advice to Welsh Ministers.

Background

Artificial intelligence is developing rapidly and is increasing demand for the digital infrastructure needed to store, process and move data. Data centres are a key part of this infrastructure, but their development also raises important questions for Wales about energy, water, land, digital connectivity, planning, the environment, jobs and skills, and the benefits for the communities in which they are located.

The National Infrastructure Commission for Wales (NICW) is undertaking an independent programme of work looking at data centres, AI compute and the wider infrastructure needed to support them in Wales. Our role is to consider both the opportunities presented by this rapidly developing sector and the infrastructure, environmental and social challenges that need to be addressed.

This work is being undertaken alongside the Welsh Government’s development of its approach to data centres and AI infrastructure. NICW will contribute evidence to that work while maintaining its independent role and will provide its own evidence-based advice to Welsh Ministers.

The initial phase runs from October 2026 to January 2027, with a wider programme continuing to December 2027.

What are we looking at?

• Where are data centres currently operating, consented or proposed in Wales, and what further development could realistically take place?
• What could increasing demand for AI and computing mean for Wales?
• Does Wales have the electricity grid, water, digital connectivity, land and other infrastructure needed to accommodate future development?
• What are the potential economic opportunities, including jobs, skills, supply chains and investment, and how can Wales secure wider public value?
• What can Wales learn from approaches being taken elsewhere?
• How are technologies such as cooling, water use, heat reuse, energy storage and flexible demand changing?
• What do communities, businesses, infrastructure providers, local authorities and other stakeholders think Wales should consider when making decisions about this infrastructure?

Three connected workstreams

To support the project, NICW has commissioned three complementary workstreams. The three teams are working alongside NICW and each other so that technical evidence, professional and stakeholder expertise, and community experience can be considered together rather than separately. The joint approach is also intended to identify synergies and avoid duplication between the workstreams.

1. Technical evidence and infrastructure analysis

Arcadis is supporting NICW with the technical evidence underpinning the project.

The work will help NICW understand the constraints and opportunities associated with future data-centre development and the infrastructure readiness of Wales, including North and South Wales AI Growth Zones.

2. Stakeholder engagement and professional input

Equinox Communications is supporting NICW’s engagement with professional, institutional and infrastructure stakeholders.

This work includes stakeholder mapping and recruitment, facilitated discussions and support for communicating the findings of the programme. It provides an important link between the technical research and the organisations involved in planning, providing, regulating and using Wales’s infrastructure.

3. Community engagement

Next Generation Engagement, led by Dr Kirsty Jones, is carrying out a programme of community engagement to hear directly from people about data centres and AI infrastructure.

NICW wants to hear a broad range of perspectives, including from people who may not normally take part in discussions about digital or infrastructure policy.

Bringing the evidence together

The three workstreams are deliberately connected. Technical evidence tells us what may be possible and where the constraints lie. Stakeholder engagement brings in the experience of organisations involved in delivering and managing infrastructure. Community engagement helps us understand how the opportunities, impacts and choices surrounding data centres are viewed by people and places across Wales. NICW will bring these different forms of evidence together to develop independent, evidence-based advice about how Wales can respond to the growth of data centres and AI compute infrastructure while securing long-term public value and considering impacts on communities, infrastructure and the environment.

For further information, please contact: NationalInfrastructureCommissionforWales@gov.wales