UK lacks data on datacentre usage amid AI-driven environmental concerns

A recent freedom-of-information inquiry found that the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology could not provide details on the owners or intended uses of the UK's largest datacentre installations, and the department has now been dissolved. With many sites pending planning permission and 315 applications to link to the National Grid, concerns grow over the lack of oversight for projects that consume large amounts of electricity and water.

Ministers had earlier introduced a scheme allowing qualifying datacentres to bypass local planning committees by entering the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project process, a move campaigners say shields them from community scrutiny. Green Party leader Zack Polanski criticised the approach as a "steamroller" over local objections, while Oliver Hayes of Global Action Plan warned that the facilities could power both beneficial services and wasteful AI applications.

Water UK highlighted the risk of water shortages, and Friends of the Earth urged a moratorium until robust environmental safeguards are established. The government declined to comment, arguing that halting construction would jeopardise jobs and national security.