Shortly after the recommendation that Britons should delete old emails to save water comes the news (from Barbour ABI) that the UK is expected to see 95 new data centre projects commence within the next 12 months, most of which will be completed by 2030.
These new data centres represent almost a fifth of the UK’s current 477 facilities – a staggering amount, considering that the UK is already the world’s third largest data centre region, trailing only the USA and Germany. While most of the new facilities will be in London and the Southeast, nine are planned in Wales, one in Scotland, five in Greater Manchester and a handful in other parts of the UK.
The demand for ever-increasing data centre capacity has been credited largely due to the rise of AI; and the UK’s digital infrastructure, too, relies on more data centres to be built for storage. Moreover, the government has made clear it believes data centres are central to the UK’s economic future – designating them critical national infrastructure.
“The reality is that all of us – whether we think of ourselves as ‘tech users’ or not – already rely on data centres every day,” notes Mike Leaford, Associate Director, Arup. “A 96-year-old who reads a library book, pays in cash at the newsagent, and makes a rotary-dial phone call and has no idea what a data centre is, is still indirectly using data centres at every one of those steps. At the other end of the spectrum, teenagers practically live in the cloud – every photo, payment, revision note and driving test booking flows through multiple data centres.”
However, serious concerns have been raised about their impact, encompassing pressure on power and water networks, sustainability, and a potential knock-on effect on people’s energy bills. Indeed, Stewart Laing, CEO, Asanti Data Centres, says that the question isn’t whether 95 new sites are needed, but how we deliver them in a way that maximises efficiency and sustainability.
“Modern data centres are a world away from the water draining, power-hungry image many people still hold. Closed-loop cooling systems means they don’t constantly draw water, while continual improvements to drive as low a PUE (power usage effectiveness) score as possible means that we’re constantly looking at ways to drive efficiencies,” says Laing. “The real opportunity in the UK is to connect directly to renewable energy via private wire: last year alone the UK paid hundreds of millions in restriction payments, payments made to wind farms to restrict power generation because the National Grid cannot absorb the power. Allowing data centres to use that clean energy, save money and eventually drive down the cost of power, would make the UK a more attractive place for investment.”
“The question isn’t whether we need them, just as the challenge isn’t whether we build them – but how we make their footprint as sustainable as possible, while recognising that AI and the digital economy will only fuel further demand,” adds Leaford.
