UK Datacentres: Just a Quarter of Predicted Jobs, Massive Energy Demand
Executive summary
New analysis by thinktank Verdant suggests UK datacentres will create only a quarter of the jobs predicted by the tech sector, while consuming vast amounts of energy. The report challenges industry figures, highlighting a significant discrepancy between projected job creation and the actual employment intensity of these facilities.
Reporting based on theguardian.com
Why it matters
For UK AI and energy stakeholders, this analysis suggests that the economic benefits, specifically job creation, promoted by the tech sector and government may be significantly overstated. This raises questions about the justification for the rapid rollout of AI datacentres, particularly given their high energy and water demands, and their potential impact on local communities and national climate ambitions.
Sector impact
Analysis by AI Energy Intelligence UK
The article highlights that datacentres consume vast amounts of energy. Verdant's analysis indicates that existing datacentres create about 8.6 jobs per megawatt of energy consumed, while future, larger projects are expected to be even less job-intensive, potentially creating as few as 1.6 permanent positions per megawatt. The government acknowledges that electricity capacity is claimed by tech firms for these facilities.
The article suggests that the rapid rollout of datacentres is being defended by Labour, partly on grounds of national sovereignty and the need for a 'sovereign level of datacentre capacity in this country'. However, Verdant's analysis questions the economic rationale for this buildout, implying that the energy demands could crowd out alternative plans.
The tech sector, represented by TechUK, estimates that the UK datacentre industry supports 43,500 jobs and could support 40,000 more by 2035. However, Verdant's analysis directly disputes these figures, predicting only 10,400 direct jobs from currently planned datacentres. This disparity could influence investment decisions and policy discussions around the economic return of datacentre developments.
Key statistics
Figures as reported by theguardian.com. See original source for context.
Quotations
"We’re being rushed into supporting a frantic pace of datacentre buildout on very flimsy economic grounds."
"Clearly artificial intelligence and related technologies have great potential. But vast new datacentres arrive at significant real costs to local communities and even our climate ambitions, and their use case has to be made by the government and industry – rather than assuming we can build first and then work out why we did later."
"This report relies on a deeply misleading jobs-per-megawatt metric, makes false comparisons with hospitals and schools, and appears to confuse electricity capacity with actual consumption. More seriously, it discounts the wider economic value of compute [computing capacity] and the national security and sovereignty case for building critical digital infrastructure in Britain."
"The British public is very clear that it wants strong defence. It wants strong, sovereign capability, it doesn’t just want foreign billionaires to own things that matter to our lives. If we’re being true to those British values, it is impossible to achieve that without building a sovereign level of datacentre capacity in this country."
"The government is planning to steamroller local opposition so private companies can build datacentres – but it can’t explain what the benefits are."
"England and Wales are still facing drought after our hottest summer ever, but these datacentres are set to be given priority access to water. Meanwhile, this latest research suggests far fewer jobs may actually be created in constructing and staffing them than the government claims."
"simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on overseas computing for the processing of sensitive health and defence data"
"Our estimates that the UK datacentre industry supports 43,500 jobs, and could support 40,000 more by 2035, are built on a published methodology using industry data and standard economic impact assessment techniques. The figures were built transparently from the best available industry data at the time, and we are confident they remain a reasonable estimate of the sector’s employment contribution."
Long-term implications
The debate over job creation versus energy consumption, coupled with concerns about water usage and local community impact, suggests potential for increased public and political scrutiny of datacentre development. Should Verdant's predictions prove accurate, it could lead to policy shifts aimed at balancing technological advancement with environmental and social responsibilities, potentially slowing down the unbridled expansion of AI infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
How many jobs are UK datacentres expected to create?
Environmental thinktank Verdant predicts that all currently planned datacentres in the UK will directly employ 10,400 workers, compared to over 40,000 jobs cited by industry lobby group TechUK.
What is the energy impact of UK datacentres?
Datacentres are reported to consume vast amounts of energy. Existing facilities create about 8.6 jobs per megawatt of energy, with future larger projects potentially creating as few as 1.6 permanent positions per megawatt, according to Verdant's analysis.
What is the government's stance on datacentre development?
Labour has defended the rapid rollout of AI datacentres, classifying them as critical national infrastructure to speed up planning. The government also echoes TechUK's claims about job creation and cites national security and sovereignty as reasons for building critical digital infrastructure in Britain.
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Original source
This story summarises reporting from theguardian.com. Read the original for full context.
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