Green Party leader urges pause on new UK data centre approvals
Green Party leader Zack Polanski has asked the government to halt approvals for new data centres in England, citing water and energy concerns.
During a visit to a proposed East London data-centre site, Green Party leader Zack Polanski urged the UK to freeze approvals for new facilities, warning that they consume large volumes of water and electricity. He said the sector should be limited to local-scale projects on brownfield sites near renewable power and that operators must report annual resource use. The Greens highlighted that data centres were classified as critical infrastructure in 2024, potentially giving them priority over households for water.
Government officials countered that a moratorium would push investment abroad and risk jobs and national security, while stressing that developers still need to use clean energy and support local economies. Estimates suggest current water use by English data centres is about 1.9 bn litres a year, with a rising trend.
Why it matters
The debate pits climate concerns against economic and security arguments over expanding digital infrastructure.
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