Abstract
As a society we face the challenge of transitioning our energy system away from fossil fuels to a sustainable Net Zero system. Though daunting, we are developing technologies, systems and plans to achieve this across existing sectors, including transport, industry and the built environment.
But all the while, a new form of energy demand was on the rise. Hidden in the commercial sector, nestled away in business parks, mysterious windowless buildings with no signage, slowly sucking up baseload. The Data Centres.
Now, with the meteoric introduction of AI applications, these Data Centres are outgrowing their humble beginnings. Massive scale up is underway to support ever more powerful AI, requiring vast Data Centre campuses, large enough to justify their own nuclear reactors.
Where does all this leave our plans for Net Zero?
