Datacentre backlash tests UK climate pledges

Datacentres are facing a global backlash from campaigners who argue they drain resources and worsen the climate crisis. This summer, the Scottish National Party and the Greens have backed a moratorium on new developments.

Local Opposition Meets Central Power

In Tower Hamlets, east London, a government-approved datacentre on a former brewery site has sparked fierce local opposition. The facility is projected to consume 5.2MW of energy, which a local campaign group states is enough to power 15,000 homes. Despite objections from residents and the local council, which wanted the land used for housing, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner overruled the council to approve the application, citing the creation of 44 homes as a significant public benefit. Only six of those homes will be socially rented.

Resident Henna Khanom said this reflects a common feature of these battles: locals feel datacentres are forced on them with little transparency or democratic oversight.

The Scale and Secrecy of the Boom

The number of large "hyperscale" datacentres has nearly tripled globally since 2018. In the UK, the estimated total has grown from 52 in 2000 to roughly 520 today, with about 48 being hyperscale facilities. Exact figures are unknown, even to the government. Secrecy surrounds the industry's environmental impact.

This secrecy is significant given the sector's massive energy appetite. The International Monetary Fund estimates that by 2030, datacentres will consume more energy than all but the world's three largest state emitters: China, India, and the United States. They are already driving up electricity prices; one analysis found a 267% rise in wholesale prices over five years near datacentres in Virginia.

Government Strategy and Climate Costs

The UK government views datacentres as essential to the AI age and has moved to accelerate their construction. Since the start of this year, datacentres have been allowed to opt into the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (NSIPs) scheme. This process lets the secretary of state, not local councils, make planning decisions, bypassing local scrutiny.

This policy is having direct climate consequences. Two of the first datacentres to use the NSIPs scheme are applying to build new private gas power stations. Together, these plants would be responsible for more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions. In total, more than 100 datacentres in the UK intend to burn gas to generate their electricity, with some possibly doing so permanently.

Guardian tech correspondent Aisha Down states that communities are upset by the prospect of constant diesel generators near their homes. Police in Scotland recently warned a developer that public anger over these buildings now poses a security risk.

The Vague Promise of AI Sovereignty

Policymakers argue the UK must be an "AI maker, not an AI taker" and cannot afford to be left behind. However, there is no clear agreement on how datacentres achieve these vague aims. With US tech companies retaining control over the infrastructure, intellectual property, and profits of datacentres built on UK soil, the benefits to the UK are unclear.

Aisha Down suggests that people in the highest echelons of power seem to be making policy based on AI Fomo and vibes. The industry argues that newer AI datacentres use less water than older facilities, but the UK's Environment Agency does not know how much water the sector uses. It remains one of many unknowns in a rapidly expanding industry. The battle over datacentres is becoming a major test of the government's commitment to both climate action and democratic control.