The UK government's ambition of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 could be undermined by its new deal on AI data centres, according to BBC research. During Wednesday's Budget speech, Chancellor John Healey said data centres would be allowed to build onsite power generation while they wait for a grid connection. BBC File on 4 Investigates has discovered that four planned "hyperscale" data centres - including three in the south of England - are already considering using gas-fired power to meet their electricity needs, creating more CO2 than the cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Southampton combined.
Labour MP Toby Perkins, who chairs the Environmental Audit Select Committee, said a substantial increase in the use of natural gas "can't be the future". "Government absolutely shouldn't be in the business of just saying anyone who wants to bring it here, can do whatever you like to power it, because that is not acceptable," he said. The government said data centres were "essential to Britain's economy" and that its new Data Centre Covenant set clear expectations for developers to pay a fair share of the costs they impose on the energy system and deliver benefits for local communities.
Data centres are warehouses full of powerful computer servers used to run a vast range of digital services, including streaming, banking and public services and have been part of the British landscape for more than two decades. But a new generation of data centres due to come on stream in the next few years will operate on a much larger scale to cope with the growing computing demand needed for increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence technology. They will consume considerably more energy than their predecessors at a time when the National Grid is already struggling to meet demand.
Ofgem, the energy market regulator, says data centre developers are seeking connections totalling 72 gigawatts. The peak electricity demand across the whole country last year was 45 gigawatts. Such is the demand for access to the already under-strain national electricity grid, some data centre developers have been told they could be waiting up to 10 years for the system to be upgraded to provide them with a connection.
Nathan McWhinnie, head of market intelligence and oversight at Ofgem, said: "In a lot of places, the grid is at capacity. I think sometimes it's easy to forget the scale of the demand of these connections. These projects are sometimes the size of cities." In last week's Budget, the chancellor announced a British Data Centre Covenant, requiring operators to invest in local communities, create jobs and protect water supplies in return for priority grid connections.
But he also said that where grid connections were unavailable, developers would be permitted to generate their own power on-site. BBC File on 4 Investigates has discovered that four data centres are already looking at using gas-fired power stations to meet their electricity needs. If continuously running at full capacity, our calculations show they would require 1.3 gigawatts of power and could produce an estimated 4.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
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