And how much of the 9GW do you reckon they actually want to build? The guy representing the datacentre companies does not say. Even if it's only a third or a quarter of them, that's a ludicrous drain on a resource that, as the article also points out, is not actually in overabundance

The argument I'm making is not "too much is bad, therefore there must be none". There's even a proposal for a power cap on them in the article. Byt these companies have repeatedly demonstrated their willingness to ride roughshod over the rest of society at every opportunity. We should not extend them any trust beyond what we have ironclad control over.