Greens call for temporary ban on new data centres
Summary
The Green Party in England wants to pause the approval of new data centres due to concerns about their high water and energy use. The government opposes this, saying stopping new data centres would hurt jobs and national security because data centres are important for processing sensitive information.Key Facts
- Data centres need a lot of water to cool their computer systems, but exact UK water use data is not reported.
- There are about 477 data centres in the UK, mostly near London and southern England, which are currently experiencing drought.
- The Green Party wants to stop new large data centres except small local ones and wants stricter environmental rules.
- Data centres have been classified as critical infrastructure since 2024, meaning they get extra support during emergencies.
- The government says a pause on new data centres would cause the UK to lose investment and rely on foreign computing for sensitive data.
- Research estimates that data centres in England use about 1.9 billion litres of drinking water yearly.
- The Green Party suggests building data centres on previously used land near renewable energy sources for greener operation.
- The government stresses that water loss from leaks is much higher than use by data centres and wants developers to use clean power and be responsible with water.
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