Sir Keir Starmer’s effort to drive economic growth with a surge of AI data centre developments risks torpedoing Labour’s Net Zero goals. The Telegraphhas the story.
Just one £10 billion data centre project in the North East will emit as much carbon dioxide as one of Britain’s busiest airports, highlighting the difficult trade-offs facing the Prime Minister as he seeks to both improve growth and reduce emissions.
A complex of 10 facilities near Blyth, Northumberland, will generate more greenhouse gas emissions than Birmingham Airport, which carries 12 million passengers per year, planning documents show.
The project, which will cover 133 acres, is being helmed by Blackstone-backed QTS and was touted by the Prime Minister last September as a “huge vote of confidence in the UK”. Work is expected to start on the site later this year. …
Data centres are crucial to artificial intelligence (AI) and Sir Keir has made establishing them a key priority as he seeks to harness the new technology. Data centres were designated as critical national infrastructure last September and the Prime Minister has identified certain areas as “AI growth zones”, making it is easier to build there.
The projects require huge amounts of power. In a report this week, Alex de Vries-Gao, founder of the Digiconomist website, calculated AI data centres would need 23GW of power worldwide by the end of 2025. The UK’s average national power demand is around 30GW. …
The “hyperscale” data centre in Blyth, which received the green light earlier this month, will emit 184,160 tonnes of CO2 per year once operational. Northumberland County Council, which approved the scheme, said the facility would double its overall industrial emissions and represent 12% of the county’s overall emissions by 2030. …
The data facility’s expected emissions assume the UK remains on track with its plans to decarbonise the grid. In an environmental report submitted by QTS, the operator said it had received feedback that the council was concerned the project could “throw off” the local authority’s own green target of carbon neutrality by 2030. Councillors agreed to proceed with the scheme regardless.
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