Unlocking Scottish power to meet data centre demand

Building data centres in Scotland could save consumers £5bn, protect valuable data and create new jobs, according to Giles Hanglin, CEO of Apatura, a renewable energy company changing the way the world powers its future.

The UK is poised for an explosion in demand for fast, reliable and secure data

UK data centres already generate an estimated £4.6bn in revenues a year, and siting data centres in the UK ensures everyone’s data – from the personal to that held and used by businesses and the public sector – will be safer from cyber-attacks, environmental disasters and IT blackouts.

In 2022, data centres accounted for just 2.5% of the UK’s electricity consumption. By 2035, however, National Grid chief executive John Pettigrew anticipates this share will increase six-fold, driven by demand for energy-intensive computing infrastructure needed for machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing and data-rich streaming services.

Building new data centres on sites in Scotland is crucial to unleash untapped opportunities for the whole of the UK. Expanding data centre infrastructure in regions like Scotland mirrors successful models seen in the Nordics, creating wealth and opportunities while aligning with the UK’s push for net zero.

Delivering these assets will also attract investment, since every megawatt (MW) of IT load costs £10-12m. A data centre with a 300MW IT load can generate approximately 500 construction jobs and 200 permanent roles, contributing millions annually in business rates and over £1bn in indirect economic benefits.

Access to power is a fundamental consideration for data centre owners and operators. Data centres are power-hungry, therefore having a readily available grid connection to hand is a priority. Locating a data centre close to renewable energy generation ensures access to low-carbon, low-cost electricity – this in turn drives down their operational cost so operators can maximise scalability over time.

Locating the UK’s next generation of data centres in Scotland makes sense in operational terms. In the south of the UK, grid connections are scarce with long queues to connect to the grid. [AP1] However, in Scotland, they are more plentiful and renewable energy supply outstrips demand, with Scottish wind farms subject to higher rates of curtailment than those in other regions. According to the National Energy System Operator (NESO), one of the most congested areas on the UK electricity network is around the border between Scotland and England and this is projected to get worse, requiring significant investment to ensure the system can be run in an economic and efficient manner.

Locating data centres north of the border will absorb gigawatts of capacity. National Grid’s planning processes assume a 5GW increase in demand by the mid-2030s and locating an additional 5GW of flexible demand (a 10GW demand increase in total), like data centres or electrolysers, behind transmission bottlenecks within Scotland could save consumers £5bn and avoid the need for network reinforcements.