(AI), experts claim, following Sir Keir Starmer revealing plans for a targeted push on data centres.
in the coming years.
as part of plans to become a "futuristic leader in AI technology".
The Prime Minister declared that developers will have expedited access to planning permission decisions and connections to grid power.
Over 4,000 megawatts (MW) of data centre capacity is currently under construction or in the development stage in Britain, as per research by DC Byte, compared with approximately 1,512MW currently in operation.
This would mean demand increasing by more than the capacity of a large nuclear facility, for example, the Sizewell C or Hinkley Point C stations, said Edward Galvin, Chief Executive of DC Byte.
On renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.
Luke Alvarez, a tech investor at Hiro Capital, said: "We desperately need a lot more energy quickly. The UK's current plan to achieve net zero and the bias towards relying on wind are fundamentally at odds with this."
High-powered AI computers mean that some of Britain's biggest new data centres are now being built at former power stations that can still draw on reliable grid access. This is the case with a proposed £10 billion Blackstone facility in Northumberland and a Microsoft site at the former Eggborough coal-fired station in Yorkshire.
The facilities also necessitate consistent supplies, presenting a challenge with intermittent power sources like wind and solar.
On Monday, the Prime Minister stated they would establish an "AI energy council" led by Mr Miliband and Peter Kyle, the Secretary of State for Technology, to promote the utilisation of technologies such as small modular reactors (SMRs).
Several Small Modular Reactor (SMR) companies are currently discussing the possibility of powering data centres in the UK. Nevertheless, the first SMRs in Britain are not expected to become operational until sometime in the next decade, rendering them unsuitable for meeting the increasing demand for data centre energy in the short term.
"We need a lot more nuclear and smaller nuclear reactors, I think we probably need a lot more gas in the short term," said Mr Alvarez.
The sudden surge in demand for AI has resulted in data centre operators failing to meet their environmental goals and being left with no choice but to rely on fossil fuels.
Microsoft stated last year that their emissions had increased by a third since 2020, whilst Google rescinded their claim of being carbon neutral following a hike in emissions.
Large technology companies have turned to constructing gas plants and diesel generators in Dublin, where a shortage of power grid capacity has forced data centres to rely on fossil fuels.
Tone Langengen, of the Tony Blair Institute, stated that demand forecasts for power in the US were overly cautious following an explosion of construction activity in the field of artificial intelligence data centres and that this scenario was likely to be repeated in the UK.
She stated that so-called "hyperscalers" like Microsoft and Amazon could assist in commercialising SMR technology in Britain.
Mr Miliband had previously encouraged nuclear developers to talk to the Government about emerging projects. He said back in December: “We should leave the door open to the possibility of SMRs driving the fourth industrial revolution, just as coal powered the first.”
David Bloom, of Goldacre, a data centre investor, said: “Data centres do require a consistent and steady supply of power, which does present a problem in terms of compatibility with renewable energy, as wind does not always blow.”
He said companies building the sites are trying to iron out supply issues with battery storage.
Play The Telegraph's excellent collection of Puzzles - and feel a sense of well-being every day. Challenge your brain and improve your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the challenging Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.
