Article

Building the future by transforming the past: Stellanor’s approach to sustainable data center infrastructure

Gary Watson

Managing Director

Gary Watson Author

Urban proximity and environmental responsibility aren’t competing priorities. They’re two sides of the same strategy.

The data center industry has a sustainability problem it rarely names. The conversation fixates on how efficiently a facility runs once it is built, while the largest environmental cost is often the act of building it at all. At Stellanor, we start somewhere different: wherever viable infrastructure already exists, transforming it is often the most sustainable path. Every site presents different opportunities, and our approach is to deliver the capacity modern workloads require in the most environmentally responsible way possible.

 

The brownfield advantage

Viable data center infrastructure already exists across the UK’s urban centers. Instead of breaking ground on undeveloped land, we invest in transforming these existing sites, an approach known as brownfield development, into facilities ready for AI-era workloads.

The logic is simple. A single large new build can generate thousands of tons of CO2 in concrete and steel before a single server is switched on. Transformation avoids almost all of that upfront carbon. It reuses the grid connections, fiber, water, and road access that are already in place, and it extends the productive life of functional buildings rather than feeding the demolish-and-rebuild cycle.

Inside our buildings we are designing and installing high-density power solutions for the most demanding workloads capable of delivering up to 250kW per cabinet. We are delivering energy-efficient cooling, and upgraded connectivity, all running on renewable energy from day one. The result matches or exceeds new construction, without the environmental price tag.

“Sustainability isn’t just about how efficiently we run data centers. It’s about whether we needed to build them in the first place.”
Gary Watson
Managing Director, Stellanor

Goswell Road: our blueprint

Our flagship in London demonstrates this case in practice. Goswell Road is a former distillery with architectural and historical character. Rather than demolish it, we are transforming it into a modern, AI-ready facility.

By choosing transformation over replacement, we preserve a landmark, avoid the carbon footprint of demolition and reconstruction, and still deliver the capability a new build would. Goswell Road is our blueprint, and the approach we are refining there will be applied across every facility we upgrade.

Why location is itself an environmental choice

Putting data centers in city centers is usually framed as a performance decision, about latency and access. It is also an environmental one.

When your infrastructure sits around the corner from where businesses actually operate, technical teams reach it by public transport, bike, or a short drive instead of a long-distance trek. Across the life of a customer relationship, that travel adds up, and avoiding it matters. Urban sites also reuse the grid, telecoms, and transport links a city already has, and they fold into existing commercial districts rather than consuming open land. The most sustainable infrastructure is woven into the urban fabric, not bolted onto its edges.

 

Measuring what actually matters

Sustainability in this industry too often shrinks to a single number: Power Usage Effectiveness. PUE measures how efficiently a running facility uses energy, and it matters, but it says nothing about the carbon spent building the facility, or whether it needed to exist.

So, we measure the whole picture: embodied carbon avoided, building lifecycles extended, renewable energy procured, and cities reused rather than developed. As we scale from eleven facilities toward expansion across the UK, Ireland, and the Nordics, we assess each opportunity on its individual merits. Where transforming existing infrastructure is the right solution, it forms a key part of our approach.

“We’re not interested in building the largest data center network. We’re interested in building the right kind of data center platform.”
Gary Watson
Managing Director, Stellanor

What this means for you

For the enterprises we serve, this is practical, not just principled. You don’t have to choose between performance and sustainability. Urban proximity delivers lower latency and easier access, AI-ready infrastructure delivers the density and cooling your workloads demand, and renewable energy supports your own reporting at the same time.

In practice, that helps on three fronts:

  • ESG reporting: renewable energy procurement gives defensible claims, and urban proximity cuts Scope 3 emissions from team travel.
  • Net Zero commitments: a provider built around renewable energy and efficiency supports your own carbon targets.
  • Stakeholder expectations: sustainable, renewable-powered infrastructure is increasingly what investors, customers, and regulators look for.

These aren’t trade-offs to balance. They are the same decision. Around the corner. Around the clock. And built to last.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about sustainable data center infrastructure

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It means upgrading data center infrastructure that already exists in urban locations rather than building new facilities on undeveloped land. Stellanor invests in existing sites and brings them up to AI-ready capability, reusing the structure, grid connections, and connectivity that are already in place instead of starting from scratch.

New construction generates enormous embodied carbon. A single large build can produce thousands of tons of CO2 in concrete, steel, and materials before a single server runs. Transformation avoids most of that upfront cost by reusing existing structures and extending their lifecycle rather than going through a demolish-and-rebuild cycle.

No. High-density power systems support the 15kW+ per rack that AI workloads require, modern cooling increases capacity while cutting energy use, and upgraded fiber delivers the low latency modern workloads need. Performance and sustainability are delivered together, not traded off against each other.

Urban sites reuse existing grid, telecommunications, water, and transport infrastructure rather than requiring new development, and they integrate into existing commercial districts instead of consuming undeveloped land. Proximity also lets customer teams reach the facility by public transport or short trips, reducing travel emissions over the life of the relationship.

Renewable energy procurement across all facilities gives defensible claims for corporate sustainability disclosures, and urban proximity reduces Scope 3 emissions from staff travel to the facility. Partnering with a provider committed to renewable energy and infrastructure efficiency supports your own carbon reduction and Net Zero goals.