Google’s huge new Kent datacentre to emit 570,000 tonnes of CO2 a year
A new Google datacentre in Kent is expected to emit more than half a million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year , equivalent to about 500 short-haul flights a week, planning documents show.Spread across 52 hectares (128 acres), the Thurrock “hyperscale datacentre” will be part of a wave of mammoth computer and AI power houses if it secures planning consent.The plans were submitted by a subsidiary of Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and the carbon impact emerged before a concerted push by Donald Trump’s White House and Downing Street to ramp up AI capacity in Britain.Multibillion-dollar investment deals with some of Silicon Valley’s biggest technology companies are expected to be announced during the US president’s state visit to the UK, which starts on Tuesday.Keir Starmer’s government has forecast a 13-fold rise in the amount of computer processing power AI will use by 2035 and is scrambling to supply the datacentres to meet that demand in the hope the technology will boost Britain’s insipid economic productivity.
Deals involving Nvidia, the world’s largest AI chip maker, and OpenAI, the company behind the ChatGPT AI assistant, are anticipated,But campaigners have said a wave of massive new computer warehouses will crank up Britain’s greenhouse gas emissions and put pressure on finite power and water resources,If allowed, the Thurrock complex will include up to four datacentres on “grey belt” land part-occupied by a former speedway and stock car track,It “will lead to a net increase in GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions of 568,727 tonnes CO₂е [carbon dioxide equivalent] per year in during the operational phase”, planning documents examined by the Guardian show,That amounts to about 500 flights from Heathrow to Málaga every week, according to the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization’s carbon calculator.
Google’s planning application stresses this remains a “minor adverse and not significant impact when compared to the UK carbon budgets”, but campaigners disagree.“Google’s planned facility in Essex will produce carbon emissions several times higher than those of an international airport,” said a spokesperson for Foxglove, a campaign group for fairer technology.“But this is just one of many ‘hyperscale’ datacentres that US big tech wants to impose on the UK – in pursuit of their own profits and regardless of the cost to our environment.“Starmer’s government needs to stop bowing to the Trump-Big Tech agenda and start standing up for the interests of the UK public – otherwise we will all be paying for the tech giants’ datacentres, whether in terms of soaring energy bills, dwindling water supplies or a heating planet.”Datacentres currently consume about 2.
5% of the UK’s electricity, and demand on the grid is expected to increase fourfold by 2030, according to the House of Commons library.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionThe British government does not believe datacentres will have a significant impact on the UK’s carbon budget because of its ambitious targets for electricity grid decarbonisation.Rather it is worried that without massive investment in new datacentres, the UK will fall behind international rivals, including France, resulting in a “compute gap” that “risks undermining national security, economic growth, and the UK’s ambition to lead in AI”, according to a July research paper from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.Other important datacentre projects include a £10bn scheme on the site of a former coal-fired power station near Blyth in Northumberland that was granted planning permission in March.It is poised to be at the heart of a UK-US deal involving Nvidia and OpenAI.
It was also reported at the weekend that Google is in early-stage talks about building a mammoth datacentre on Teesside.Bain & Company, a global business consultancy, said on Monday that AI and datacentres could account for 2% of global emissions and 17% of industrial emissions by 2035, with the impact highest in countries where fossil fuels still dominate power generation.Google declined to comment on its planning application for the Thurrock site.On Teesside, it said: “We do not comment on rumours or speculation.”
The New York Giants are 0-2 again. But are they finally ... watchable?
Russell Wilson’s team looked as disappointing as always in their season opener. But in their loss to the Cowboys, they produced sloppy mistakes and offensive fireworks in equal measureWhen Fox analyst Greg Olsen noted that this week’s version of Russell Wilson was “unrecognizable from Week 1,” he could have referred to the entire New York Giants team.Limping into Dallas after their dismal opening loss to the Commanders, the Giants picked up where they left off – with a lot of stupid mistakes. Offensive tackle James Hudson III stole the limelight as he somehow amassed four consecutive penalties on New York’s first possession. Hudson was duly benched but the Giants’ penalties kept coming – they gave away 160 yards’ worth on Sunday
Gout Gout says he is ‘ready to rumble’ ahead of World Athletics Championships debut
Australian teenage sprint phenomenon Gout Gout has declared his legs are “ready to rumble” ahead of his major international debut on Wednesday at the World Athletics Championships.The 17-year-old participated in a panel session with international press on Monday, his only pre-meet media opportunity, as he prepares to contest the 200m in Tokyo. Gout was asked what his legs would tell him if they could talk.“They’ll be ready to go, like in F1 when the cars are warming up the tyres,” he said, making a swerving gesture with his hands. “They’ll be just … ready to rumble, that’s what they’d say
Mariners’ Cal Raleigh ties Mickey Mantle’s record with 54th home run of season
Cal Raleigh hit his major league-leading 54th home run of the season, tying Mickey Mantle’s record for a switch hitter set in 1961, as the Seattle Mariners took sole possession of first place in the American League West with an 11-2 victory against the visiting Los Angeles Angels on Sunday afternoon.Jorge Polanco tied a franchise record with three doubles and Julio Rodriguez added two more with two runs and two RBIs as the Mariners (82-68) won their ninth game in a row.Randy Arozarena led off the bottom of the first with a single and Raleigh hit the next pitch from Kyle Hendricks, a sinker on the outside corner, 409ft into the Seattle bullpen in left-center field.Raleigh said he had talked about the record with his father. “I remember him talking about [Mantle] like he was a god
AFL confirms State of Origin football to return in 2026 after 27-year hiatus
The AFL’s marquee State of Origin fixture will return next year to end a 27-year hiatus, with Western Australia to host Victoria in Perth on Valentine’s Day. After a clamour from fans and players for the state-based rivalry’s return, the 2026 game will be played at Optus Stadium.The last time an Origin game was contested between state teams was in 1999, when Victoria beat South Australia by 54 points at the MCG, but South Australia was overlooked this time after strong lobbying from the Western Australian government.It follows a successful Indigenous All-Stars clash at Optus Stadium earlier this year, when 37,865 fans turned out to watch the representative side beat the Fremantle Dockers.“We’ve been talking with the clubs over a period and if the players buy in, the clubs buy in,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said
The greatest game of all? Broncos v Raiders NRL classic might just be the best of all time
Rugby league has long referred to itself as “the greatest game of all”. Few who witnessed the 94-minute all-time classic between the Raiders and Broncos on Sunday afternoon would argue otherwise. In a match that is already being hailed as arguably the greatest finals match of all time, a long distance Ben Hunt field goal in golden point as darkness fell on the nation’s capital sent the Broncos to the preliminary final and broke Raiders hearts in a match that had everything. The most talented of Hollywood script writers would have struggled to conjure such a chaotic, dramatic, epic finale.On the back of their first minor premiership since 1990, the Raiders seemed to have a home preliminary final all but secured when Ethan Strange burst over with 25 minutes to go, giving them a 16-point lead
Vingegaard wins Vuelta after final stage cancelled amid pro-Palestinian protests in Madrid
The final stage of the Vuelta a España was abandoned in chaotic and violent scenes, after groups of pro-Palestine protesters swamped the finish line area and presentation podium in central Madrid on Sunday.As huge crowds engulfed the finish area, the race leader Jonas Vingegaard, his Visma Lease-a-bike team and the rest of the peloton were forced to turn back from the city centre, with more than 55km still to race on stage 21. In an official statement, the Vuelta organisers said: “For security reasons, stage 21 of La Vuelta has been ended early. There will be no podium ceremony.”Spanish media reported that about 3,000 protesters were at the finish line and it was also claimed that there had been violent exchanges between police and protesters
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Here’s a tip: eliminate US tipping culture and pay people a living wage
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