AI data center operator Nscale lost a planned Microsoft project in Loughton, Essex, after the local grid operator said enough power might not be available until the early-to-mid 2030s, CoinDesk’s Shaurya Malwa reported.
The site was intended to provide 50 megawatts of capacity to Microsoft’s Azure cloud using 23,040 Nvidia chips by early 2027. Nscale, spun out of bitcoin miner Arkon Energy, said its other Microsoft contracts remain in place.
CoinDesk said AI-ready facilities cost an estimated $8 million to $15 million per megawatt, versus roughly $700,000 to $1 million for bitcoin-mining sites.
The DeAI angle: The setback shows that repurposing bitcoin-mining expertise for AI compute does not remove the sector’s dependence on grid access, capital and concentrated hyperscaler demand.