As set out in its Artificial Intelligence (AI) Opportunities Action Plan, the UK government will form a council to better understand the energy demands of AI.
The AI Energy Council will be chaired by energy secretary Ed Miliband and Peter Kyle, secretary of state for science, innovation and technology. Working alongside energy companies, the council will address challenges fuelling (and fuelled by) the technology’s development.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has said that AI can be used in a wide variety of applications, including to speed up planning consultations, adding that prioritising AI development will directly support the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower.
The AI Action Plan does acknowledge that clean and renewable energy solutions are needed to power the high energy demands of AI. The data centres that support the technology require vast amounts of power to keep servers online, as well as cool the hardware within.
Ireland is a good example of the energy impact that data centres can have. The growth in the commissioning of data centres there has threatened the clean energy targets of The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In August, Cornwall Insight forecast that both countries are on track to miss their goals of generating 80% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Overlooking the AI energy strain
In September, the government classified data centres as critical national infrastructure, putting them on equal footing with water, energy and emergency services.
While plans to support the development of AI in the UK do touch on energy use and sustainability, so far no concrete plans have been set for how this will be ensured. AI Growth Zones will be established to encourage rollout of data centres, and the first is set to be in Culham, Oxfordshire, home to the UK’s Atomic Energy Authority.
According to the government, this will also serve as a testing ground to drive forward research on how sustainable energy like fusion can power AI ambitions. UK prime minister Keir Starmer said AI growth will directly support the government’s mission to become a clean energy superpower by tapping into technologies like small modular reactors (SMRs).
AI in the energy system, clean energy powering data centres
AI does have proven use cases in a smart energy system but it is dangerous to justify the energy drain by suggesting the technology might be able to solve longstanding barriers to an effective energy transition.
Amir Orad, CEO of Kraken, utility Octopus Energy’s AI-powered smart energy use platform, responded to the plans, pointing out the opportunity the technology represents for utilities in the UK. He said that Kraken is already “harnessing this transformative technology to build a balanced, abundant energy system and make sure the transition to renewables works for everyone”.
Dublin-based company GridBeyond, which provides smart grid and energy platform services, announced in June of last year that it would provide battery energy storage systems (BESS) to two data centres in Ireland owned by Singapore-listed Keppel DC REIT.
The project includes the installation and management of two 2MW/2.2MWh BESS at the Citywest site and a 4MW/6.1MWh BESS at the Ballycoolin site. GridBeyond will connect the batteries to its AI-powered energy technology platform, GridBeyond Point.
In Wales, the Cardiff City Council unanimously approved plans for a 1,000MW BESS to be constructed alongside a data centre in Splott, Cardiff. It is purportedly the largest BESS to successfully secure planning permission so far in the UK.
Cloud services provider iomart partly powers its flagship data centre in Maidenhead, UK, with 560 rooftop solar panels, capable of generating 250,000KWh of energy each year, as part of its plans to power its data centres with 100% renewable energy.
