Planned AI data centres in the UK may end up running on gas-fired power, potentially undermining the government's target of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, according to BBC File on 4 Investigates.

In Wednesday's Budget speech, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said data centres would be allowed to build onsite power generation while they wait for a grid connection. The BBC's investigation found that four planned "hyperscale" data centres — three of them in southern England — are already considering gas-fired power to meet their electricity needs. Based on the BBC's calculations, if these sites ran continuously at full capacity they would require 1.3 gigawatts of power and could produce an estimated 4.1 million tonnes of carbon emissions a year — more than Manchester, Liverpool and Southampton combined.

Labour MP Toby Perkins, who chairs the Environmental Audit Select Committee, said a substantial increase in natural gas use "can't be the future" and that the government "absolutely shouldn't be in the business of just saying anyone who wants to bring it here, can do whatever you like to power it."

The four projects are at different stages. At Acre Slough, west of London, developers say gas engines with up to 49.5 megawatts of capacity could be used while waiting for a National Grid connection, expected to take at least 10 years. At Wapsey's Wood in Buckinghamshire, a proposed 200-megawatt gas power station could run until sufficient grid capacity arrives, currently not expected until 2040. Quest Park in Bedfordshire has proposed a data centre with a 1 gigawatt power load, equivalent to 200,000–250,000 average UK homes; its director David Kohler has said the company's energy mix is a "work in progress" and that it is considering alternatives to gas combustion. In Cardiff, developer Curtis Hall is seeking permission for a temporary energy centre with turbines of up to 49.9 megawatts, described as a "worst-case scenario." All four projects say they intend to connect to the national grid once it can meet their needs.

Ofgem says data centre developers are seeking connections totalling 72 gigawatts, against peak national demand of 45 gigawatts last year. Nathan McWhinnie, head of market intelligence and oversight at Ofgem, said the grid is at capacity in many places and that "these projects are sometimes the size of cities."

The government said data centres are "essential to Britain's economy" and that its new Data Centre Covenant sets clear expectations for developers to pay a fair share of energy costs and deliver benefits for local communities. It said any behind-the-meter generation would be tightly controlled, time-limited and allowed only for exceptionally strategic projects.

Source: BBC News