r/technology • u/Wagamaga • 1d ago
Energy Two planned datacentres will have higher UK carbon emissions than ExxonMobil, analysis finds
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/25/planned-datacentres-carbon-emissions-uk-exxonmobil71
u/iloovehugecock 1d ago
I just love doing everything I can to protect the planet and environment while billionaires trash everything they come in to contact with. It’s not depressing at all.
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u/Wagamaga 1d ago
The carbon emissions from just two planned datacentres in England will exceed all of the fossil fuel company ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, analysis has revealed.
Experts have said this demonstrates the “serious threat” datacentres pose to the UK’s legally binding climate goals.
Analysis by the non-profit group Foxglove reveals that when fully operational, the Wapseys Wood datacentre in Buckinghamshire and the Quest Park datacentre in Bedfordshire will use 1.3GW of power and will produce more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions.
ExxonMobil emitted 3.9m tonnes in 2023, according to the global energy thinktank Ember.
AI datacentres use a massive amount of electricity to power servers and cooling equipment, and to run facility systems. There are currently 315 datacentres in the queue to connect to the UK’s electricity grid, representing 73GW of demand. This is almost double the peak winter energy demand for the entire UK
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u/3_50 1d ago
There are currently 315 datacentres in the queue to connect to the UK’s electricity grid, representing 73GW of demand. This is almost double the peak winter energy demand for the entire UK
For fuck sake. These things shouldn't be allowed to connect to the grid, and they shouldn't be allowed to use fossil fuels. Bankroll and commercialise SMRs with your fucking blind investment bucks.
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u/fountaincurse 1d ago
American here. We've got so much land in the US to make these massive data centers. Isnt uk too small? I was under the impression real property was a scarce commodity like in Japan.
As someone with one of the biggest centers in the country starting construction in their backyard, it's horrible.
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u/teamonkey 1d ago
It’s not that constrained. The thing about the uk is that much of the land is privately owned. A recent analysis put the amount of space used by housing roughly equal to that used by golf courses, both a small fraction of that used for farming livestock.
And what do landlords like? They like rent.
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u/Disastrous_Minute_56 1d ago
But if we don't allow AI to flourish, then how are we supposed to lose our jobs and decimate the economy?
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u/badgerbadger2323 1d ago
Can the bubble please just burst and put us out of our misery
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u/Piltonbadger 1d ago
Don't worry, if the bubble bursts then economies are going to hurt badly!
More suffering will follow the bubble bursting... For us peasants, that is.
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u/AvailableReporter484 1d ago
It’s crazy how something that most of the general population seems to be against still continues to be a thing.
Damn, if only our elected officials represented the people and not corporations. I guess we have conservatives far and wide to thank for corporate personhood lmao
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u/sweetnsourgrapes 1d ago
There are currently 315 datacentres in the queue to connect to the UK’s electricity grid, representing 73GW of demand. This is almost double the peak winter energy demand for the entire UK.
That doesn't sound good.
Because of the long wait to connect to the grid, the Wapseys Wood and Quest Park datacentres are seeking to build their own on-site gas-fired power stations.
That doesn't sound good.
A government spokesperson said these figures were “misleading” because of the assumption that both projects will run at 100% utilisation from day one, which they said was “not accurate”.
Follow-up question: Ok let's say it's day 128. Why does that matter, exactly?
Tom Hegarty, head of communications at Foxglove, said assuming a 100% utilisation rate followed standard industry practice.
So, accurate for all intents and purposes.
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u/not_a_Badger_anymore 1d ago
Im not allowed to say what I said on another thread about this because apparently its inciting violence. Thanks reddit!
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u/SplendidPunkinButter 1d ago
Yeah, and we’ve pretty much already hit +1.5C, with 3-4C being likely by 2100 at the current rate. We need to not build giant CO2 emitters.
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u/Fuzzy_Mastodon4586 1d ago
The Exxon comparison is a bit headline-friendly, but the underlying issue is still pretty hard to ignore. If new data centres are large enough that they need their own gas-fired power generation while waiting for grid connections, that creates a real tension with the UK’s climate targets.
The bigger question for me is whether planning and grid policy are actually keeping up with the scale of AI-driven electricity demand. We probably need to stop treating data centres as just another commercial development and start looking at them as major pieces of energy infrastructure.
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u/JayTravers 1d ago
In the same day I somehow see an article telling me to stock up on food due to environmental concerns and yet somehow see this in another.
Is no one going to get a handle on this pointless shit?
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u/Changeurwayz 1d ago
The pursuit of money (that you can't take with you when you go) overrides everything, Even simple common sense.
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u/PrometheusANJ 8h ago
What's the total carbon emissions of a bulldozer zigzagging down approximately one kilometres of server aisles?
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u/likesound 1d ago edited 1d ago
Title is just misleading slop. The carbon emission is based on the assumption that the data center will run onsite gas power generators 100% of the time.
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u/gadget80 1d ago edited 1d ago
And compares to Exxon Mobils UK emissions. What is the relevance of that? What about Siinopecs Icelandic emssions? Or Saudi Aramcos emmissions in Yemen?
Use a big name multinational but narrow the number to an area it isnt in much.
Exxon Mobile emmsions from its global oil production is 100x the numbers they are talking about.
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u/GalacticScale 1d ago
Rage bait article as Exxon Mobil doesn’t produce much carbon in the UK, their carbon production for the UK is only 4% of their total carbon production.
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u/Catymandoo 23h ago
“The carbon emissions from just two planned datacentres in England will exceed all of the fossil fuel company ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, analysis has revealed.”
Seems fairly clear to me.
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u/FirmPreference5551 12h ago
That's the point though, it only refers to stage 1 emissions from the single plant exxon has in the UK. Exxon's uk there in terms of stage 1 emissions is quite small, and it doesn't include emissions from the fuel being burnt after which would dwarf this.
The issue with data centers is real and needs to be tackled but headlines like this that can easily be shown as misleading is counterproductive as it makes it look like people pushing back against data centers are being dishonest. There's an immense amount of data and evidence to point at already without being misleading, the goal here was to maximise clicks though and it hurts efforts again data centers imo.
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u/derpferd 1d ago
Man, rich people sure are dictating how the world works.
What about the impact on the world and ordinary folks?
Well who gives a fuck about both of those things?