Plans for a gas-fired power station have been lodged alongside the Cardiff data centre application, with the firm behind the project stating that the facility would draw on that generation capacity to become operational. Hall, which is developing the site, told reporters the temporary plant — with a lifespan of up to five years — would be brought in if connecting to the national grid takes longer than anticipated.
The statement further characterised the gas turbine option as a contingency, while noting that the development — earmarked for land currently occupied by a park and ride facility near Llanrumney — was described as standing to deliver a range of advantages.
Friends of the Earth labelled the planned data centre a threat to the climate, a position echoed through formal planning objections submitted by a Welsh government minister and nearly all Senedd members representing the affected area. Cardiff Council holds an existing agreement to transfer the site to the developer, and one of its senior Labour councillors had lodged a formal objection to the proposal.
A decision by the Welsh government on whether to take over the planning process for the facility remains pending, leaving Cardiff Council without the authority to approve any permission during that interval. A policy document addressing the broader matter is expected from the government before the year draws to a close.
Demand for data centre construction has grown alongside advances in artificial intelligence, though these facilities have drawn opposition in various parts of the world, largely over their substantial power consumption. Positioned on the eastern edge of the city, the park-and-ride facility at Cardiff East provides transport access for those working at or visiting the University Hospital of Wales.
Residents of a nearby new-build estate have raised objections to the project, among them James George, 32, who told reporters that potential environmental harm and effects on his property were at the forefront of his concerns, pointing in particular to the noise and exhaust emissions from a diesel generator kept on standby to cover any interruption to the power supply. Grant, who is 51, told reporters that his foremost concern centred on Heath hospital — specifically the welfare of those working and receiving care there.
Dale Harvey also voiced opposition to the proposal, telling reporters he viewed it as deeply unfair, and raised concerns that generator noise and exhaust fumes would compound the existing traffic sound from the nearby A48 dual carriageway — something he described as particularly unreasonable given that residents had purchased their homes as new builds without any prior indication of such an installation.
According to the developer, noise from the site would remain below levels detectable by nearby residents, and any effect on local air quality would be negligible. Submitted with the outline planning application, the documents describe a short-term auxiliary power facility housing gas turbines rated at a combined peak output of 49.9MW.
According to the planning documents, the energy centre is expected to begin operating in July 2028 and run for roughly five years, with the temporary arrangement concluding around July 2033 once a permanent electricity connection to the site is established. The facility's planned layout, as drawn from the documents, called for five gas turbines and a steam generator, with two additional gas turbines held in reserve.
Over time, the data centre is projected to draw 150MW of power from the national grid. Delivery of that connection is not expected before sometime in the 2030–2034 window.
Any power station or generation plant rated at 50MW or above falls under the Welsh government's planning consent process. Representatives of Curtis Hall put forward the position that capping the plant's output at 49.9MW was not a tactic adopted to sidestep the need for any formal application.
Planners also indicated that 40 diesel backup generators would be required to remain on standby once the grid tie-in was established, keeping the power supply uninterrupted.
Friends of the Earth Cymru interim director Jenny Lloyd characterised the planning approval as irresponsible given recent periods of heat and drought alongside concerns about flood risk. Plaid Cymru MS Nick Carter, representing the Cardiff constituency of Caerdydd Fynnon Taf, questioned why a data centre requiring what he described as a small gas-fired power station needed to be placed in an urban area near schools and care homes. Labour councillor Lee Bridgeman also registered his opposition.
In a written submission, the Llanrumney ward councillor — who also holds a Cardiff Council cabinet position — argued that the centre's output levels sit uneasily alongside both Cardiff's declared climate emergency and the requirements of Planning Policy Wales.
Beyond the data centre itself, the proposal also set out provision for a dedicated crossing and connecting road serving both walkers and cyclists. Planning approval for a logistics centre at Curtis Hall had been granted at an earlier point. Cardiff Council's statement attributed the move to a data centre to what the company described as shifting demand across its market.
The firm clarified that gas generation would serve only as a backup power source until a grid connection became active, at which point it would become unnecessary — and if that connection arrived before the energy centre was built, the facility itself might never be required. Gas turbines featured in planning documents solely because they represent the highest-impact scenario for emissions and noise, making them a useful benchmark for assessing the outer boundary of any environmental effect, while the technology for the energy centre had yet to be finalised, with fuel cells capable of running on gas or hydrogen remaining among the options under consideration.
The report described the impact on air quality from petrol and diesel generators as minimal. Curtis Hall told those present that the south Wales electricity network was moving away from carbon-based generation at pace, with floating offshore wind among the technologies lined up to drive that transition.
The company's representative outlined a range of anticipated outcomes, pointing to road bridge construction alongside the potential to draw in outside investment, generate employment at competitive wages, and open up new pathways for skills development.
Cardiff Council's website lists formal objections lodged by every Plaid MS representing Caerdydd Ffynnon Taf, among them Constitution Minister Dafydd Trystan Davies, alongside Labour MP Alex Barros-Curtis, Green MS Paul Rock, and Labour MS Shavanah Taj. Concerns were also put on record by Cai Parry-Jones of Reform.
Plaid MSPs Nick Carter and Zaynub Akbar joined Cardiff's local Liberal Democrats in pushing the Welsh government to trigger a call-in review of the proposals. Both Plaid members of the Senedd argued that the matter warranted a nationwide policy framework rather than being left to individual local authorities to handle separately and without any central direction.
Cardiff Council's planning team confirmed the application had not yet reached a decision, with a formal planning committee meeting set to receive it at a later date. The Welsh government's holding direction was described by the body as unsurprising, given the degree of public attention surrounding the application.
A replacement location for the park and ride is being sought by Cardiff Council. Residents have until 28 October to submit their views through the council's public consultation process.
A separate data-centre planning framework — described as a "sustainable development policy" covering the sector broadly — is being developed by the Welsh government, with planning minister Siân Gwenllian having told the Plaid Cymru conference it would be ready for release before the year closes. Speaking at Plaid Cymru's Llandudno gathering in October, Gwenllian told party members that data centres are a necessity for sustaining a modern economy, while adding that any such facilities would need to deliver economic benefits on terms set by Wales.
