Slough’s Data Centres Spark Climate Concerns and Local Opposition

During a hot Monday in Slough, the writer examined the mix of traditional businesses and massive, metal-clad data centres that dominate the Trading Estate. Facilities run by Equinix, Digital Realty and Iron Mountain, serving customers including Amazon, Google, Oracle and Microsoft, operate with constant industrial hum and consume large volumes of electricity and water for cooling. Local inhabitants, like a mother from Britwell, described persistent nighttime whirring and a noticeable rise in ambient heat, a phenomenon supported by a Cambridge University preprint showing temperature increases of up to 9 °C near such sites.

Although the estate’s owners claim no conclusive proof of local warming, UK regulators still plan to triple data-centre numbers by 2030, classifying them as critical national infrastructure. Across the Atlantic, states such as New York have imposed a pause on new hyperscale centres, and Texas officials have ordered water- and energy-impact reviews before grid connection. The piece highlights the tension between digital expansion and environmental sustainability, questioning whether future growth will prioritize servers over housing.