The buildings – secure, warehouse-like facilities that house IT infrastructure such as computing, storage, and networking systems – are seen as critical for helping prop up the capital’s economy and public services.
asserted
that → house → economy
They are disproportionately placed in and around London due to their proximity to the financial hub in the City of London, as well as the “snowball effect”, where new data centres are built near existing ones in “clusters”.
asserted
centres → place → clusters
Oliver Hayes, head of campaigns at Global Action Plan, has warned that high-growth data centre projections could force 77,000 British households into fuel poverty in future – including 10,000 in the capital – due to increased energy bills.
uncertain
projections → warn → bills
Research from the climate campaign group reveals that added demand on the UK’s energy systems from new data centres could add an average of £88 to the average household energy bill.
uncertain
demand → reveal → bill
“It will also further impoverish the households already in fuel poverty,” Mr Hayes told the London Assembly Environment Committee last week.
asserted
Hayes → impoverish → poverty
“This is an enormous issue that is not being adequately considered.
asserted
that → consider → ?
Early analysis of that at a regional level suggests that in London that figure would be about 10,000 additional households.”
uncertain
figure → suggest → London
Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party and London Assembly Member who sits on the committee, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We need to slam the brakes on the rampant building of new data centres.
“
asserted
We → sit → centres
So many Londoners are already struggling with the toxic combination of sky-high bills and low wages.
asserted
Londoners → struggle → bills
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“Building more data centres risks pushing tens of thousands more households into fuel poverty, and that’s especially worrying here in London, where so many data centres are being proposed.
asserted
centres → read → London
“Data centres don’t just threaten our climate targets by driving up emissions, but at a time when London is facing a housing emergency we cannot afford to prioritise data centres ahead of the homes our city desperately needs.”
asserted
city → threaten → homes
The structures will also consume huge amounts of water, Assembly Members were told, which could lead to significant issues during “peak demand” in summer.
uncertain
which → consume → summer
Jon Chappell, deputy director of Water UK, said: “We build our system to meet the highest point of demand in the year.
asserted
We → say → year
“If you have a big extra new demand in summer, that increases the peak.
asserted
that → have → peak
That means you have to increase the size of your service reservoirs and your treatment works.”
asserted
you → mean → reservoirs
If every data centre to come was built like the least efficient one currently in existence, he claimed the country would need an extra 77million litres of water a day – the equivalent to three London boroughs.
asserted
country → come → boroughs
This could have a knock on effect on other parts of ministerial and City Hall’s ambition, Mr Chappell suggested, adding: “We are in a position where in the east of England and in the southeast of England, there are places where houses cannot be built and businesses cannot expand already for no other reason than a lack of water.”
uncertain
businesses → have → water
Researchers also warned the cross-party committee that headline figures around water only captures a fraction of the true cost.
asserted
figures → warn → cost
Rory Murphy, a Research Associate at the University of Exeter, noted that while US data centres used 66billion litres of water directly to cool servers in a given year, 800billion litres was used to keep the servers on in the first place.
asserted
litres → note → place
“We need to consider the wider indirect effects, particularly when considering the stress that this could place on an already stressed infrastructure,” he urged.
uncertain
he → need → infrastructure
The Mayor of London, when asked about this concern last year by Labour Assembly Member James Small-Edwards, said he had commissioned a study on the implications of new data centres on the capital’s water supply, adding: “Data centres use a variety of cooling technologies, with some requiring water while others use air cooling or non-water systems.
asserted
others → ask → cooling
The impact of data centres on water infrastructure and supply can therefore vary considerably.”
asserted
impact → vary → infrastructure
Earlier this year, he told Assembly Members: “We are looking at what we can do in terms of the water impact and what we can do in terms of the grid impact and of data centres.
asserted
we → tell → centres
“We are looking into the issue of the impacts on demand for water, the domestic demand for water, particularly in hot summer times if people are increasingly using AI.
asserted
people → look → AI
Again, my point about the offsetting in terms of what is not being done because of the energy and water required by data centres is really important.
asserted
what → do → centres
That is why we need a proper comprehensive plan for London.”
asserted
we → need → London
The draft London Plan, which guides councils on planning, says data centres in suitable locations should be supported in principle, but should only be given the go-ahead if water and electricity capacity is available.
asserted
capacity → guide → ahead
The Aporia
