UK-based data center operators are looking to connect to the country’s gas network and build their own gas-powered power plants, due to the long delays they face in connecting to the grid.

According to reporting from The Times, The UK’s gas networks have “received more than 30 enquiries related to data center connections in the past six months alone.”

Average wait times for grid connections in the UK between five and ten years. Though the nation’s government recently announced sweeping changes to its connection process, which are intended to prioritize projects that are “ready” and “needed,” there is debate on whether this will support quicker connection times for data center operators.

As a result, some companies are looking to secure gas connections to expedite their route to market, with secure gas connections often taking as little as six months to be established.

Future Energy Networks, the UK’s gas transmission industry body, said that “while none have been connected yet, these are enquiries that the networks are actively pursuing.”

A gas network executive told The Times that data center operators are open to building small gas power stations for their own use. “Because we’ve got the capacity, we can just do it,” the executive said.

“And they’re willing to pay the extra to build a little mini gas power station to run their data center, because the electricity network is saying we can’t connect you or you have to wait until 2038 and it will cost you £10 million ($13.38m).”

The UK’s gas transmission network consists of eight separate networks spanning nearly 5,000 miles of high-pressure steel pipes and more than 500 above-ground installations.

The move from the data center sector is in countenance with the UK’s government’s Clean Energy Plan 2030, which envisions mass investment into the UKs regional power networks, to support the integration of clean energy infrastructure. In a report last year, the UK government-owned National Energy System Operator said it is possible to build, connect, and operate a clean power system for Great Britain by 2030 while supporting a fourfold growth in data center electricity demand.

However, inherent concerns remain as to whether the grid can support the projected expansion of data centers in the UK. The UK market, which is the largest commercial market in Europe, is expected to rise from 2.1GW in 2024 to 3.6GW by 2029.