The UK government says it will work with power companies to make up to 500MW of electricity available for new data center developments in each of its planned AI growth zones.

Regions across the UK were this week invited to bid to host the growth zones, announced earlier this year as part of the government's AI Opportunities Action Plan.

They aim to create areas with favorable conditions for building AI infrastructure, with streamlined planning rules to enable developments to be approved quickly, and a sufficient supply of power.

As part of its announcement on the bidding process, the Department of Science and Technology (DSIT) said “the government will work with network operators to rapidly scale each zone to 500MW+, enough to power roughly two million homes.”

The announcement also said priority will be given to “sites with large existing power connections (with a current capacity of 500+ MW),” suggesting ministers are more keen to lean on existing capacity than finding new sources of energy to boost Britain’s under-pressure grid. It added that areas with “a clear vision of how energy capacity can be increased” will also be at the front of the queue.

Technology secretary Peter Kyle said the AI growth zones will “deliver untold opportunities – sparking new jobs, fresh investment, and ensuring every corner of the country has a real stake in our AI-powered future.”

Kyle added: “We’re leaving no stone unturned in how we can harness expertise from all over the UK to deliver new opportunities, fresh growth, better public services, and cement our position as an AI pioneer.”

The first AI Growth Zone will be built in Culham, Oxfordshire – home to the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority. AWS and CloudHQ already operate data centers near Culham.

The government said it is also actively seeking applications from “deindustrialized areas with land and infrastructure standing ready for redevelopment,” and “locations close to suitable sites for major energy infrastructure such as nuclear reactors, solar stations, wind farms, or battery storage.”

Since taking office in July, the UK government has signaled its intention to attract more data center investment to the country. To help do this, it has designated data centers as critical national infrastructure and pledged to reform planning laws to make it easier to build new facilities on greenbelt land.

Ministers are also looking at some data center applications that have been rejected by local planners. In December Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner gave the green light to a development in Buckinghamshire which had been rejected by councillors who labeled the project inappropriate.