Datacentres using 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research says
Datacentres are consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, with the growing strain of AI on energy supplies prompting community resistance, according to research.The proportion of electricity used by vast warehouses stacked with microchips to power AI and the internet has risen 15% worldwide in the past two years as annual global investment in datacentres approaches $1tn (£740bn) – nearly 1% of the global economy, according to the International Data Center Authority (IDCA).The figures come amid energy shortages in the UK and datacentre developers reporting waits of several years for national grid connections.The IDCA said rising power usage globally was “sparking societal and political concerns” and called on tech companies to become more transparent about their plans for new datacentres to tackle “community frustration”.The Guardian this week reported that developers working for Google significantly misstated how much carbon two proposed AI datacentres would contribute to the UK’s total emissions.
“Significant community and political pushback starts to occur in nations once their datacentre footprints have reached the 5% consumption level of national grids,” the IDCA research concludes.In early 2025, the UK government estimated UK datacentres used 2.5% of electricity, but predicted this would increase fourfold by 2030.In the first half of 2025 the queue to connect to the grid grew by 460%.The UK, where 5.
9% of electricity is used by datacentres, and the US, where the figure is 6%, are well above the global average of 2%.Tech use in Singapore and Lithuania is placing an even heavier burden on power supplies with 19% and 11% respectively of these countries’ national grid energy now consumed by datacentres.Responding to the rising power use, Greenpeace UK warned that an “unchecked AI boom” would mean higher energy bills, more stress on water supplies and “a new lifeline for fossil fuels”.Doug Parr, the campaign group’s chief scientist, said: “Before being swept along by the enthusiasm of tech billionaires whose profits depend on this expansion, we should pause and ask ourselves whether it’s worth the price.“We need more transparency about the amount of water and energy used by data centres, proper environmental impact assessments, and a ban on new polluting plants being built to power AI.
”There are now estimated to be about 10,000 datacentres worldwide, the largest of which include Microsoft’s new 1.2m sq ft (about 111,500 sq metre) Mount Pleasant datacentre in Wisconsin, which it bills as the world’s most powerful.The IDCA’s figures align with recent estimates by the International Energy Agency that energy use rose 17% in 2025, outpacing growth in global electricity demand of 3%.It also found that 13% of datacentre consumption in the US comes from unused “zombie” services – running apps that were never switched off but are unused.This wasted consumption totals in excess of 3GW.
The report said: “This sort of inefficiency is presumed to be apparent throughout the world, with inefficiencies increasing as the percentage of cloud computing rises,”The annual report also highlighted the new military threat to datacentres,“The attacks on datacentres – now viewed as critical infrastructure – in the Middle East have shocked datacentre operators and customers with the spectre of breached physical security,” it said,“Cybersecurity is now twinned with physical security as part-and-parcel of a unified, comprehensive security strategy,”
Global oil inventories falling at record pace amid Iran war; US producer price inflation hits four-year high – as it happened
Global oil stocks are being run down at a record pace as supply losses mount due to the ongoing Iran war, the International Energy Agency has warned.In its latest outlook report, the IEA reports that global oil inventories fell by 129 million barrels in March, and by a further 117 million barrels in April, as countries dipped into their reserves to cover the shortfall following the Middle East conflict.The IEA, which ordered the largest release of government oil reserves in its history in mid-March, reports:double quotation markMore than ten weeks after the war in the Middle East began, mounting supply losses from the Strait of Hormuz are depleting global oil inventories at a record pace.The IEA also forecasts weaker demand this year, as the jump in prices for crude oil and refined products leads to demand destruction.World oil demand is forecast to contract by 420,000 barrels per day this year, to 104m bpd, which is 1
Lab testing group Intertek to back £10.6bn takeover by Swedish firm EQT
The laboratory testing company Intertek has become the latest FTSE 100 business to agree to a takeover, backing a £10.6bn approach from a private equity firm owned by Sweden’s billionaire Wallenberg family.After rebuffing three previous approaches, Intertek’s board said it was “minded to recommend” the £60-a-share tilt from the Swedish buyout firm EQT to shareholders, if there was a firm offer.The deal is worth £10.6bn including debt, or £9
Fortescue ordered to pay Yindjibarndi traditional owners $150m in record native title payout
Mining company Fortescue has been ordered to pay $150m in compensation to traditional owners over cultural losses caused by the multibillion-dollar Solomon Hub iron ore mine – the largest compensation payout in native title history.The mine, which has extracted millions of tonnes of iron ore and generated an estimated $80bn in revenue for Fortescue since operations began in 2013, was approved by the Western Australian government without the consent of the Yindjibarndi traditional owners.The Yindjibarndi Ngurra Aboriginal Corporation (YNAC) launched the compensation claim in 2022 and sought $1.8bn, including $1bn for cultural damage, $678m for economic loss, $34.85m for the destruction of sites, and $112
British Steel: more questions than answers on the future | Nils Pratley
“One of the proudest things we have done in government,” said Keir Starmer in Monday’s big speech about the decision a year ago to recall parliament in order to take control of British Steel at Scunthorpe.It was an odd boast because last year’s action was merely an emergency exercise in saving the patient, as opposed to getting British Steel on its feet and out of the hospital. Taking control meant the Chinese owner, Jingye, could not turn off the two blast furnaces but meant the government was on the hook for operational losses, which will be £615m and counting by next month according to the National Audit Office (NAO).Full nationalisation is now on the cards, which will end the limbo-land state of ownership and give some comfort for 4,000 workers. But it is also the point at which the government will have to choose between its barely described “potential future options” for British Steel
E.ON agrees to buy Ovo in deal to create UK’s biggest energy supplier
The German energy group E.ON has agreed to buy struggling UK rival Ovo in a deal that would create Britain’s biggest gas and electricity supplier by number of households served.The combined company will supply about 9.6 million customers, overtaking the market leader, Octopus, which serves almost 8m homes in the UK.The value of the deal was not disclosed, but reports have estimated it at £600m
Thinktank calls for ‘double lock’ England private rent cap to ease living costs
One of the thinktanks closest to the Labour government is urging ministers to introduce private sector rent controls in England, as the chancellor weighs up how to ease a surge in living costs caused by the Iran war.The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has published a paper calling for a rent “double lock”, which would link rent increases to either wages or inflation, depending on which was lower.While others on the left have previously called for rent controls, the IPPR’s extensive links inside government will increase pressure on ministers to include the idea in a cost of living package to be announced by Rachel Reeves later in May.The Guardian revealed last month that Reeves had been considering a one-year rent freeze to deal with a rise in inflation which economists say is now inevitable, but the idea was quickly dismissed by Downing Street.Maya Singer Hobbs, the author of the paper, said: “There are millions of people living with unaffordable housing costs, and if you want to bring those down quickly there are not many options
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang joins other US bosses on Trump trip to China
How to use spent tea leaves to smoke Chinese-style duck – recipe
Weight gain as adult increases cancer risk by up to five times, research shows
Sarah Taylor named England men’s fielding coach while Gay, Rew and Baker are called up
Wes Streeting prepares to launch leadership challenge against Keir Starmer
Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes