Data centre growth
In the last few days the government has reported that the country will need to deploy at least 6GW of artificial intelligence (AI) data centre capacity in the next five years if UK PLC is to retain a competitive edge. The existing 477 data centres will be boosted with 100 in the pipeline, largely driven by the growth in artificial intelligence. The big tech companies are predictably in an arms race to dominate the UK market.
With no clear plan yet identified how the sector will be effectively regulated, there are understandable community questions and concerns about AI. The trust that is lacking about the rollout of data centres will be fundamental to their success. Cooperation and collaboration between the tech companies, councillors and community stakeholders will help deliver infrastructure projects while political engagement is critical to ensure local decision making is understood: the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIP) efforts to streamline the planning process is often perceived by local communities as counter-productive and even undemocratic.
The projected growth has raised other concerns for communities, especially in four areas:
The sheer size of the centres and the demands they place on local infrastructure mean planning may become more controversial - for example a mammoth 500,000SQM planning application was submitted in Teesside last month.
Existing data centres already consume a whole fifth of the UK's electricity. New centres will place yet more stress on the outdated grid and water infrastructure with some projects already facing connecting delays. There’s no clear timeline for when government will hurdle such infrastructure challenges, but there simply won’t be more data centres if there isn’t the environment to support them
The obvious environmental impact the centres are having - a colossal carbon dioxide footprint is matched by huge electricity and water usage which are needed to keep these shopping-centre sized buildings operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; while a sustained water supply cools the giant computers.
Very recently we have seen water companies oppose data centre plans citing water supply concerns; Anglian Water has suggested the use of treated sewage effluent for cooling rather than potable water.
The lack of transparency with the new centres: for example there isn’t reliable data on energy and water usage of the centres. The Royal Academy of Engineering is calling for tech companies to accurately report their energy and water usage for councillors and community stakeholders to more fully understand and respond to environmental risks.
Inevitably, there will be challenges and questions for local decision makers as applicants seek to win planning permission.
As ever, the CCP is here to ensure that the benefits of these infrastructure projects are understood by councillors and communities and to support political engagement harnessing the value of local decision making. With a country-wide reach of experts who have all steered local plans through the precarious political landscape, have overseen major infrastructure projects and led planning committees, you’re in safe hands for the next steps.