Several large data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) training centres in the UK intend to connect to gas pipelines to ensure energy independence in the short term, the Financial Times (FT) was told by National Gas.
The company's representatives noted that they had received a request for connection from operators of 5 large data centres in southern England, the construction of which is planned to be completed in the coming years. In total, these centres will require about 2.5 gigawatts of capacity, which is enough to supply several million households. “National Gas is now ready to play a key role in facilitating this critical investment, working in partnership with the grid,“ said National Gas chief commercial officer Ian Radley.
One of the main challenges in building large data centres in the UK is the long lead times required to connect to the grid. Building their own power stations, directly connected to the gas grid, would speed up the construction of centres that are becoming much more energy-intensive due to the rise of artificial intelligence. In the US, individual data centres are also taking this approach. Germany's Siemens Energy has seen a sharp rise in demand for gas turbines in the US due to the construction of data centres in North America.
The UK government has made the development of a network of data centres a top priority. Nvidia founder Jensen Huang previously drew the attention of Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the fact that the kingdom is lagging behind world leaders in developing artificial intelligence infrastructure.