Microsoft Turns Nscale’s Essex AI Campus Into a Grid-Delay Stress Test

Microsoft has pulled out of its planned role at Nscale’s Loughton, Essex AI data-center project, according to Reuters, the Guardian and BBC-backed reporting. The project had been announced in 2025 as a major UK AI supercomputer site for Azure services, with 50MW of initial AI capacity, scalability to 90MW and 23,040 Nvidia GB300 GPUs. Reports tie the reversal to power-supply delays that could push adequate grid connection into the 2030s, while Nscale says it remains committed to the site and that other Microsoft work is unaffected.