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Britain’s net zero dream could be crushed by big tech

As demand for data storage grows, so does the need for giant data centres – which pose a threat to our landscape and our energy supply

Jim Norton, 4 August 2024

Gigantic facilities represent the very real physical cost of our
unquenchable thirst for the internet and, increasingly, these facilities
pose a threat not only to our landscape but our energy supply too.

This year, big tech has started to sound the alarm that the boom in artificial
intelligence (AI) – which is even more power hungry than the normal web
– is putting the world in danger of missing its ambitious net zero
targets.

Tech leaders from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy and OpenAI boss Sam
Altman, to the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter) Elon Musk, have
warned this year about generative AI’s voracious use of power. Musk
warned it could lead to a global electricity shortage as early as next
year.

Some studies suggest the AI industry alone could consume as much
energy as a country the size of the Netherlands by 2027. AI’s thirst for
power has led to fears that the technology is jeopardising the ambitious
climate targets set by both governments and tech giants.

Renewable energy is not yet consistent nor plentiful enough to keep up with AI demand,
meaning officials and companies will likely have to fall back on fossil
fuels. This year, both Google and Microsoft admitted their ambitious
targets of reaching net zero by 2030 were under threat; revealing their
greenhouse emissions had risen by 48 per cent and a third, respectively,
over the past few years, largely due to the explosive growth of AI.

So what does this mean for the UK? The National Grid has predicted that AI will
drive a spike in energy use, with the amount of power demanded by data
centres expected to increase six-fold over the next decade. Given
Britain’s energy infrastructure is already struggling under the weight of
existing demand, and is in dire need of an upgrade, Labour’s aims of
decarbonising the power supply by 2030 will certainly be put under immense
pressure.

 Telegraph 4th Aug 2024

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2024/08/04/big-tech-ai-green-belt-destruction/

August 7, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | ENERGY, UK