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Greens demand halt to new data centers over water and energy use
🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Energy & Infrastructure

Greens demand halt to new data centers over water and energy use

From BBC News · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Green Party leader Zack Polanski has called for a temporary ban on new data centers in England.
  • Polanski cited concerns over the significant water and energy consumption of these facilities.
  • The government argued a pause would harm investment and national security.

Green Party leader Zack Polanski is demanding a halt to the approval of new data centers in England, citing their substantial water and energy usage. He advocates for stricter environmental regulations and increased community involvement in the decision-making process for these facilities.

We need to slam the breaks on these energy guzzling, water guzzling data centres. Essentially, we need basically a moratorium other than local scale data centres for the local community.

— Zack PolanskiSpeaking on a visit to the site of a proposed data centre in East London.

Data centers require significant amounts of water for cooling, though official figures on UK consumption are unavailable. Polanski expressed outrage that these centers are being classified as critical infrastructure, suggesting they could receive priority for water over households during droughts. He argued that critical infrastructure should include essentials like hospitals and water, not Artificial Intelligence.

At a time when three-quarters of the country are in drought, it is outrageous that these are being considered critical infrastructure.

— Zack PolanskiCommenting on the classification of data centers as critical infrastructure.

The government has pushed back against the proposal, warning that a pause would lead to the UK losing investment and becoming reliant on overseas computing for sensitive data. A spokesperson stated such a move would be "a disaster for jobs and national security." While data centers were classified as critical infrastructure in 2024, the government clarified they would not automatically receive priority during water shortages.

To most people critical infrastructure means hospitals, water, electricity. It doesn't mean Artificial Intelligence.

— Zack PolanskiContrasting public perception of critical infrastructure with the government's classification.

Environmental groups have raised further concerns. The Water Research Centre consultancy estimated that data centers in England use about 1.9 billion liters of potable water annually, with a "clear upward trend." The Greens cited research suggesting large centers could consume 1.5 million liters per day. They propose that new data centers should be built on brownfield sites, located near renewable energy sources, and owners should be required to report annual water and electricity consumption.

It would be a disaster for jobs and national security.

— Government spokespersonDescribing the potential consequences of a pause on new data centers.
About this summary

Originally published by BBC News in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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