1GW Data Center Proposed Beside 1.3GW Solar Farm in Norfolk

Developer Evolution Power Limited has proposed a data center of up to 1GW in Norfolk, UK, to sit alongside a solar farm that could generate up to 1.3GW. If approved, the solar site would be the largest of its kind in Britain.

The Longmarsh Green Energy project spans 4,695 acres across two sites outside King's Lynn. One sits south of the A47 near Tilney St Lawrence. The other sits close to Fincham and Barton Bendish.

EPL says the data center will use a closed-loop cooling system. The design keeps water use to a minimum. Details beyond that remain sparse.

How will the site be powered?

The solar farm supplies the data center directly. EPL also plans battery storage on site, connected to the existing substation at Walpole. The company says the whole project could be up and running by 2032.

The developer expects the scheme to create 500 permanent jobs, alongside what it calls "thousands" of construction roles.

What does the planning process look like?

The project's size places it under the UK's nationally significant infrastructure regime. That means the national government will decide its fate, not local councilors. This removes the usual district-level planning hurdle that kills many large schemes.

Community consultation runs until November 26. A formal planning application follows after that date.

Who is the developer?

EPL is a UK-based renewable energy developer. Its website lists three other solar farm projects, two in Kent and one in Hertfordshire. It does not appear to have built a data center before.

That inexperience matters. A 1GW facility ranks among the largest data center proposals in the country, and delivery at that scale typically demands specialist operators with track records in power, cooling and hyperscale construction.

What does this change for Norfolk?

Norfolk has no large data center market today. A 150MW facility, known as the Apex data center, is planned outside Norwich and faces significant opposition from residents.

Local opposition is already forming around Longmarsh. North West Norfolk MP James Wild told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the development "could represent further large-scale industrialization of the landscape."

The quotation signals the political fight ahead. Because Westminster decides, campaigners cannot rely on local councilors to block the scheme, so opposition will likely shift to the national examination process.

The numbers that matter

• 1GW: maximum capacity of the proposed data center
• 1.3GW: potential output of the solar farm, the largest in the UK
• 4,695 acres: combined footprint across two sites near King's Lynn
• 2032: target date for full operation
• 500: promised permanent jobs

The pairing of generation and compute on one site reflects a wider shift. Developers increasingly co-locate data centers with dedicated renewables and storage to speed grid connections and cut exposure to wholesale power prices. EPL's Walpole substation link gives the scheme a grid hook that many rival projects wait years for.