Vale of White Horse District Council is studying whether waste heat from proposed data centres beside Didcot Power Station could support heat networks for nearby homes and businesses. The project is a feasibility exercise—not approval to build a network—and the eventual customers, costs, design and timetable have not been decided.
What the council is investigating
The council’s procurement notice covers an area northwest of Didcot and asks for a techno-economic assessment of heat-network opportunities. It will examine whether zones identified by the National Zoning Model (NZM) can be combined or expanded to include heat recovered from proposed data-centre development beside the operational Didcot Power Station.
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A June 2026 notice described proposals for approximately 400,000 square metres of data centres on brownfield land next to the station. The October 2026 notice says the NZM did not account for these future data-centre heat sources, creating a reason to revisit the area’s potential network configuration.
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Data centres continuously reject heat from servers and cooling systems. A heat network could, in principle, capture some of that energy, raise or condition its temperature where necessary, and distribute it through insulated pipes to connected buildings. Whether that is practical at Didcot depends on the amount and temperature of recoverable heat, the distance to customers, demand patterns, connection costs and the commercial terms agreed with operators.
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The council’s climate-committee record says the feasibility work will estimate available heat, identify buildings that could connect, determine the most suitable network type and estimate capital costs. Stakeholders are also expected to be consulted. Those tasks are essential because a large data-centre floor area does not automatically translate into a viable heat supply: the network needs nearby demand and a dependable operating arrangement.
What the six-month study is expected to deliver
The October notice sets out a decision-making brief rather than a final engineering design. It will:
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- Review heat-network-zone opportunities around Didcot and test combinations or extensions of zones identified by the NZM.
- Assess the technical and economic viability of using proposed data-centre waste heat.
- Examine delivery models with different levels of local-authority leadership and investment.
- Consider how a scheme could be delivered under forthcoming heat-network zoning regulations.
- Provide evidence for an HM Treasury-compliant Outline Business Case.
- Recommend next steps, including whether the project should proceed toward delivery and a possible Green Heat Network Fund application.
The council’s earlier climate-committee timetable anticipated work progressing from spring into summer 2026. The procurement listing published on 2 October 2026 describes a six-month contract valued at £42,000.
Who is conducting the work?
A Find a Tender-derived procurement listing names Nordic Heat as the supplier. That supplier, contract value and duration come from a secondary procurement aggregation page rather than a council award notice, so they should be treated as reported procurement details pending confirmation in the council’s own contract documentation.
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The council itself is the commissioning authority. Its role is to test options and establish the evidence needed for a business case; the study does not commit it to owning, financing or operating a network.
What is known about the proposed data-centre development?
The Environment Agency issued Amazon Data Services UK Limited an environmental permit on 3 August 2026 for the Didcot North Data Centre Campus at the former Didcot A Power Station, Didcot, OX11 7BF. The permit identifies one operator and one installation. It does not establish that every data-centre proposal included in the council’s feasibility brief will be built, nor that any operator has agreed to supply heat to a network.
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Earlier planning records for the former Didcot A site also discussed data-centre buildings and the possibility of reusing excess heat. That history explains why current heat-decarbonisation planning is being considered alongside development proposals, but planning discussion is not the same as a construction or connection commitment.
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| Question | Current position |
|---|---|
| Will a heat network be built? | Not decided; the council has commissioned feasibility work. |
| Which buildings would connect? | To be identified through the study. |
| How much heat could be recovered? | To be estimated from the data-centre proposals and technical assessment. |
| What network technology will be used? | Open; the study will assess the most suitable network type. |
| What will it cost? | Capital costs and scheme viability are still being assessed. |
| Who will own and operate it? | Different local-authority leadership and investment models will be compared. |
| When would construction start? | No construction date has been announced. |
| Will all 400,000 square metres be developed? | The figure describes proposals, not a confirmed full build-out. |
Why the feasibility stage matters
Heat networks require coordinated decisions about heat supply, customers, pipes, finance, planning and long-term operation. A data centre can provide a potentially steady heat source, but the business case still has to show that enough customers can connect at an acceptable cost and that the supply remains reliable over the network’s lifetime.
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The study can also clarify how national zoning policy might apply locally. Forthcoming heat-network regulations may influence designated zones, responsibilities and connection expectations; the council is therefore testing governance and compliance options before seeking funding or making a delivery commitment.
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What to watch next
- The completed feasibility report and its estimate of recoverable heat.
- Maps showing potential network routes and candidate customers.
- The preferred ownership, investment and operating model.
- An Outline Business Case and any decision to seek Green Heat Network Fund support.
- Evidence of agreements with data-centre developers and prospective heat customers.
- Any planning, zoning or construction decisions that move the proposal beyond feasibility.
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