United Kingdom: Renewables

The UK renewable energy sector achieved a milestone in 2025 with renewables generating 44% of electricity, while wind power maintains its position as the dominant renewable source. Following a comprehensive market review, the government has decided to retain a unified national electricity pricing system rather than adopting zonal pricing. New regulatory reforms targeting grid connections and the Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 are designed to accelerate project development by reducing approval delays.

The UK government has released a substantially revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that introduces significant changes for infrastructure development, including expanded definitions of renewable energy, more permissive approaches for essential infrastructure in Green Belts, and new strategic planning requirements. The framework now expressly includes nuclear power, hydrogen, and even heat recovery from data centres within its renewable energy definition, while clarifying that wider environment

As data centres transition from largely unregulated facilities to designated critical infrastructure, their environmental impact and energy consumption have come under unprecedented regulatory scrutiny. With the AI boom driving exponential growth in data centre capacity, new EU reporting requirements, energy audits, and forthcoming rating schemes are reshaping the investment landscape and forcing operators to balance digital expansion with climate commitments.