What we're writing & being asked about
September 2026
Opna’s response to Ofgem’s Curate consultation.
Curate is a new system designed to improve demand management specifically for data centres. It evaluates whether developers are serious and capable of delivering their projects, and it can weed out those who aren’t up to the task.
August 2026
How can a European data centre operator accelerate their energisation?
Order long-lead equipment earlier, and make that order evidence of two things. Under Ofgem's July 2026 proposals, proof that you have procured transformers and switchgear becomes a condition of holding your grid connection position. Equipment procurement is no longer only a schedule lever. It becomes a queue lever.
July 2026
A practical guide: How a UK data centre connects to the grid.
Everyone in this industry should know how to build a data centre. Far fewer can tell you how to power one because connecting a site to the grid is a different discipline, with its own rulebook and timeline.
June 2026
Opna named as AI & Energy Technology Pioneer by World Economic Forum.
Each year, the World Economic Forum recognises 100 organisations for their cutting-edge technologies with the potential to improve the world. The 2026 cohort highlights the major trends in global innovation, including AI infrastructure and robotics.
May 2026
Grid reform: A dummies guide to the latest EU and GB grid policies.
If you work in energy, renewables, data centres or anything that needs a grid connection, you'll have heard a lot of noise about grid reform over the past year or two. The grid reform can't wait.
April 2026
Wiring the transition: There is no decarbonisation without electrification.
Europe's net-zero targets depend on electrifying virtually every sector, driving a massive and sustained increase in electricity demand. The binding constraint is no longer renewable technology or cost — it is the physical grid infrastructure, especially transformers, transmission lines, and substations, where lead times and connection queues stretch years into the future.
March 2026
Opna hosts Key Leaders Event with women in energy x infrastructure x aI
Opna hosted their first Women Leaders breakfast for those working at the intersection of energy, infrastructure and AI to discuss the megawatt trilemma and how we can't have all three unless we lead differently.
March 2026
Opna responds to Ofgem's call for input on demand connections reform.
Opna argues that the connections queue can't be fixed without fixing the power equipment supply chain that sits beneath it. And calls for supply chain commitment to be a formal milestone in Ofgem's reform framework and makes the case that AI infrastructure and decarbonisation are complementary.
March 2026
Opna responds to DESNZ consultation on accelerating electricity network connections for strategic demand.
Opna argues a priority queue position means nothing without the supply chain access to energise on time — and that supply chain readiness must be built into the government's strategic designation criteria.
February 2026
Critical power equipment: The current plug to decarbonising Europe.
Grid connections, not generation, are the bottleneck in Europe’s clean energy rollout. A shortage of key equipment, especially large transformers, has created long lead times and rising costs. Fixing the problem requires coordinated grid reform and supply-chain planning.
December 2025
Whitepaper: AI infrastructure as climate infrastructure.
Explore how as an industry we can leverage the AI inferencing surge to anchor equitable financing for the real economy and communities - funding renewables, low-carbon materials, carbon removal, and water restoration.
December 2025
AI infrastructure: Hyperscale growth and its limits.
Concentrated facilities strain local grids, water systems, and communities, underscoring the need for a more balanced, climate-aligned approach. The future is distributed intelligence: Smaller, modular, and distributed data centres can turn AI infrastructure into a foundation for resilience and the net-zero transition.