UK’s Digital Ambitions Risk Energy Security Without Joined-Up Strategy, Say Experts
- tiernan83
- Aug 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 29
The UK’s ambitious plans for AI and digital growth are running up against major risks to the nation’s energy security and Net Zero targets, with experts calling for more joined-up infrastructure planning.
The government has placed AI and cloud services at the heart of its growth strategy, setting a target to increase public sector compute capacity twenty-fold in the next five years. But this rapid expansion depends on the scaling of energy-hungry data centres, raising serious questions about sustainability and whether growth can be reconciled with the UK’s Net Zero journey.
These challenges were the focus of the latest Foresight Webinar, Meeting the UK’s Data Centre Energy Requirements.
“We need to have our technological ambition, our AI strategy, to be our energy strategy, and our energy strategy to be our AI strategy,” said Teodora Kaneva, Head of Smart Infrastructure and Systems at techUK. “If that is the route our government want to go down to attract skills and investment.”
This joined-up approach is beginning to take shape through the establishment of the AI Energy Council, co-chaired by Energy Secretary Ed Miliband and Science Secretary Peter Kyle.
One of the biggest barriers to expansion is the grid: new data centres can face connection delays of up to eight years, leaving projects worth hundreds of millions stranded. Microgrids are emerging as a solution, providing decentralised power near-site, with the potential to integrate renewables and, eventually, advanced nuclear such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).
“…we’re not just facing a crisis – we’re in a crisis and the electricity grid is, unfortunately, not an answer,” said Paul Stein, CEO of Floral Energy. “Energy is becoming an issue of national security. We talk about energy sovereignty as a big issue these days.”
This warning is not theoretical - In Ireland, regulators have already introduced a moratorium on new data centres in the Dublin region, citing a lack of available grid capacity.
The pause has slowed investment and forced operators to rethink how facilities are powered, providing a stark reminder of what happens when digital growth outpaces energy infrastructure, and why the UK must act now to avoid similar constraints.
Despite these challenges, there is optimism.
“I generally believe that we have all of the solutions needed to power up and expand data centre capacity in the United Kingdom,” said John Booth, Technical Director at the National Data Centre Academy. “It just needs to be a bit of joined-up thinking.”
Key challenges identified included:
Demand is rising faster than sustainable supply or efficiency gains can keep pace.
Grid capacity and connection delays are holding back growth.
Cooling and water use are under scrutiny, requiring greater engagement with industrial water providers.
Industry needs certainty on pricing measures and connection reforms, as the current first-come-first-served model is not working.
The big message: Data centres are critical to unlocking the economic and social benefits of AI and digital growth, but policy clarity, infrastructure investment, and sustainable planning are essential if the UK is to deliver this growth without jeopardising energy
security or Net Zero goals.
