Artificial Intelligence: Energy
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what estimate he has made of the energy requirements associated with the expansion of a) AI and b) data centre infrastructure.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan
The expansion of AI, and data centre infrastructure is critical to the UK, forming the backbone of future economic growth, digital resilience and global competitiveness.
In 2024, the UK Government’s Compute Roadmap set an ambition for the UK to reach 6GW of AI-capable data centre capacity by 2030. The rapid evolution of this sector is driving a significant increase in associated energy requirements.
We are working closely with industry, wider government, regulators, and the system operator to improve our understanding of the scale, timing and system impacts of future demand. Our ambition is to enable timely and coordinated delivery, ensuring the UK can realise the full economic and strategic benefits of this growth.
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