Data Centres: Power, Risk and Resilience Summit 2026 - Panel teaser

As we wrap up the event coverage of inspiratia’s inaugural Data Centres: Power, Risk and Resilience Summit for this year [2026] we are going to take one final look at not quite the highlights* from the last panel of the day, but intriguing ones nonetheless.

For this panel, we delved into the practical policy, energy and funding proposals for data centres with a closer look at the market in the UK.

The panellists went over realistic alternatives to power data centres and laid out arguments as to why the use of gas generation and nuclear energy for this sector is possible even in countries such as the UK.

Discussion also included the American model for data centres and what UK needs to do to stay competitive with other European countries.

Pat Hayes, executive director of housing and property at Slough Borough Council, on why using nuclear energy to power data centres in London is not only practical but also a socially viable option. He asserts having the right design and location for such an asset can make it palatable for residents.

Jeffrey Altman, senior advisor at Finadvice, on why American innovation will continue to put the country at the forefront of the buildout of this asset class. He also points to the government’s willingness to subsidise small modular reactors (SMRs) for use in the data centre sector and suggests the UK will eventually follow suit.

Rosa Rotko, project director of energy transformation at Mott Macdonald, on conditions that will facilitate the build out of large data centre campuses in the UK. Rotko highlighted the UK government’s proposal to allow data centre developers to build out their own transmission network and the country’s pole position in the nuclear licensing space, both of which, could attract private capital in theory but said that the implementation remains uncertain.

James Hill, director at Flint Global, on the rapid evolution of policy to propel the development of data centres. Hill touched on the UK’s attempt to clear hurdles for the sector from prioritising actionable projects to proposing to fast-track connections. He theorised that the will may be outpacing the way and that the policy implementation may need to pick up pace for projects to materialise.

Rotko on the buildout of gas peaking capacity to power data centres in the UK. She points out that the UK currently subsidises and provides revenue guarantees for gas generation through capacity market contracts and that use of fossil fuel energy may be less of a point of contention but rather their location. Hayes suggests that the appropriate benefits for residents akin to the ones used by France for residents close to nuclear sites could temper opposition.

Altman on the primary bottleneck for data centre rollout and the importance of appropriate government incentives to encourage investment. He also shines a light on the high energy prices in the UK as a significant hurdle for this sector.

[Note: He did talk about it off camera]

[*Editor’s note: The lion’s share of the discussion during the day happened strictly on background and is intended only for attendees in the room.]