Data Centres

Data drives our digital world. Every search, every download, and every stream - all of them pass through servers housed in data centres. As AI use increases, as we rely on more sophisticated models, the demand for data centres increases.

Data centres use huge amounts of energy. Data centres use 6% of the electricity supply in the UK and US, according to research, and AI use means that number will grow. The IEA reported in April 2025 that data centres now consume more than 560 billion litres of water annually, possibly rising to 1,200 billion litres a year by 2030. Water use is a particularly contentious point, as a large portion of water becomes vapor, leading to removal from the local water systems and temporary removal from the water cycle. That means, in the short-term, the water used is non-renewable.

The UK aims to become the third largest provider of AI infrastructure, with plans to build over 100 data centres on top of the more than 500 already in place. The government has classified many as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), granting them priority over other infrastructure projects, such as housing and hospitals.

Data centres have become a key issue in our political conversation. Data centres contribute to climate change, impact local communities, undermine public services, and push up costs of household bills. The public bears the cost of data centres, without agreeing to them. We need Citizens' Assemblies of ordinary people, informed by experts, to decide on the direction of data centres in the UK.

We explore major points of contention for communities across the UK.

Data centres and local communities

Data latency is the time delay between when data is generated, sent, or acquired, and when it becomes available to a person. It is governed by the laws of physics. That means, for applications requiring quick responses, the distance from the data centre impacts how services function. That's why AI has led to more data centres built near cities, with British data centres largely concentrated around London.

The issue has led to clashes between local communities, local government, and central government. In East London, for example, community activists campaigned against proposals to build a data centre in an iconic building in Brick Lane. Tower Hamlets Council initially rejected planning permission, but central government has intervened and - as of August 2026 - has overruled the local authority. It follows a pattern of government overruling local authorities, as we've seen in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire.

Data centres raise questions of democratic accountability. The public and even local councils reject the building of data centres, yet the government pushes ahead.

Data centres and public infrastructure

The government classifies data centres as CNI, meaning they jump the queue ahead of houses and hospitals. We are facing a housing crisis, and the government fails to meet their target of 1.5 million homes, but data centres have been deemed a priority.

New housing developments have been temporarily delayed after the electricity grid reached full capacity. Data centres drive up demand, and that demand is expected to rise by up to 600% between 2025 and 2050, further limiting building of housing.

The public has not been consulted. The government prioritised data centres over houses and hospitals with no input from the people they are supposed to serve.

Data centres and the cost of living

Data centres are pushing up household costs. In the US, citizens are paying 30% more for electricity compared to 2020, with bills to rise an average of 8% by 2030, according to an analysis. In states with the most data centres, household bills could increase by 25%. The UK is facing similar problems, with further increases to electricity and water bills expected, pushed by energy-hungry data centres.

Tech companies increase the cost of expanding electricity and water systems and the public covers the cost. Data centres force expensive grid upgrades, as we've seen in areas of London, and the cost will come directly to your energy bill. AI systems create more demand for water, which means improvements to water systems, paid for by the public. The costs are nationalised, the rewards privatised.

The British public face ever-increasing bills, because of data centres. But nothing is inevitable and the public should demand their say, demand to be heard.

Data centres and environmentalism

Data centres, as mentioned above, demand huge amounts of electricity and temporarily non-renewable water. According to a University of Oxford study, a 1-megawatt datacentre, generally considered small to medium, uses enough electricity to power 1,000 houses and can use 25.5 million litres of water annually.

Projections suggest that, by 2030, global data centres will use more electricity than the entirety of Japan and more than 5 trillion litres of water, largely to cool servers.

There are currently few specific regulations around energy use and data centres. Tech companies are not required to avoid fossil fuels and, even if they did turn to renewables, the limited supply would undermine other areas of decarbonisation.

How you can get involved

We'd love for everyone to get involved. Here are some of the ways you can join Pull The Plug and push back against the irresponsible building of data centres:

Sign our petition demanding a moratorium on new data centres in London
Join the Pull The Plug campaign
Join our call for Citizens' Assemblies
Let's all work together and demand a say on data centres.