Ofgem has proposed a new way to make data centre developers feel the financial pinch before they get to power their server farms. The British energy regulator wants a refundable deposit ranging from £237,500 to £712,500 per megawatt, meaning a 1 GW data centre would need to cough up hundreds of millions upfront. If the project actually gets built, they'll get the money back - assuming they don't lose it in a server rack.

The proposal comes as the queue for grid connections has swelled from 41 GW to 125 GW in a year, which is more than double Britain's peak electricity demand of about 46 GW. Yes, data centres are now asking for more power than the entire country uses at its thirstiest moment.

Ofgem's consultation, running until 16 September, aims to weed out "speculative projects" that grab grid capacity without any real intention to connect. Eleanor Warburton, the regulator's director for energy system design and development, said: "Britain's electricity demand connections queue has more than tripled… and consumers should not bear the risks created by speculative projects."

The UK currently hosts 564 data centres, with Scotland seen as a prime location for future builds thanks to its renewable energy supply - 24 are already in planning. Energy minister Michael Shanks backed the plan, saying it would "help ensure that viable connection-ready projects can get going."

Residents near proposed data centres have raised concerns about noise, water usage, and the sheer electricity appetite of these AI-powered behemoths. But hey, at least the deposits are refundable - unlike the peace and quiet.