So the NIMBYs are even getting into the headlines now
jungleboy1234 on
i hope we’ve got some paper based record hidden deep underground or some kill switch to prepare ourselves for skynet’s takeover.
arabidopsis on
Why can’t we put a stipulation these data centers should help fund and invest in clean green power??
Surely the RoI would still work?
Helpful_Talk on
But…. electricity capacity….water for cooling…. sorry, we need power and water for our data centres. Joe public doesn’t need those…
GuyLookingForPorn on
Half the reason the UK’s economy is mediocre is because whenever any sector starts to do well people turn on it.
>The number of data centres in the UK is set to increase by almost a fifth, according to figures shared with BBC News.
>
>Data centres are giant warehouses full of powerful computers used to run digital services from movie streaming to online banking – there are currently an estimated 477 of them in the UK.
>
>Construction researchers Barbour ABI have analysed planning documents and say that number is set to jump by almost 100, as the growth in artificial intelligence (AI) increases the need for processing power.
SidneySmut on
For the economic good of us all, it’s best if NIMBYs have their taps and electricity supply disconnected. Only then can they live their virtuous lives, untroubled by societal change.
homeinthecity on
This is what happens when you don’t delete your old emails.
EdmundTheInsulter on
I’m sure the millions of people not posting it collecting dvds to watch must save more power than the electricity used in the data centre. Same argument for online banking.
Why car use seems to keep going up is another question though.
Realistic-Tip-5416 on
This is great news for the UK. Concerns of data centres in the USA have always been about water consumption for cooling, but as a naturally drenched country, unlikely to be an issue.
Spamgrenade on
Watched a video the other day about how much energy these places use. Can’t remember the exact figure but a simple animation was around 0.01 KW/h. Multiply that by millions of requests per hour and the energy use is insane. Alongside that the need to use a lot of water for cooling.
mileseverett on
I wish we did more of this: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939558](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939558) our swimming pools and generally leisure facilities are on the brink of collapse, if we can offset the cost with data centres that’s a win win in my books
baddymcbadface on
Why London? This is our most expensive land and highest local wages.
The speed of light is quite fast.
Cooling is cheaper up north/Wales/scotland, water is more plentiful, land is cheaper, wages are lower.
There needs to be some joined up thinking here. The number of computation tasks that need co-location are vanishingly small.
Nima-night on
Where is all the water coming for the data centers? Serious question I would rather drink our water rather than a computer
IceGripe on
Have to be careful of Miliband shutting the power off.
DangerMouse111111 on
All so people can create videos and pictures on the various AI platforms. What a waste.
Hollywood-is-DOA on
We will pay for this in higher electricity bills, as the companies doing things like this, always expect the general public to pay for it, one way or another.
billy2bands on
Why can’t they use the heat generated to keep some houses warm through the winter?
Adventure-Bench on
How can any company afford to run a data centre in the UK?
We have the highest industrial electricity costs and the most arrests for comments
effefille on
Meanwhile solar farms get denied planning permission constantly… how are we intending to power these new data centres?
block_01 on
We need to stop the data centres, they are going to destroy the country and those in charge don’t care they just want to see a bigger number in their bank accounts
Matt6453 on
„Concerns mount“, this is just another „fears grow“.
I hate journalism these days.
SojournerInThisVale on
Though the opportunity for domestic data storage is welcome, I fail to see what major job opportunities these will create. They’ll need to be built, for sure, and they’ll need a limited number and techies to maintain them, plus some security guards.
Flat_Revolution5130 on
Where are you going to get the water. The water company’s are already crap.
LftAle9 on
I don’t think people raising concerns should be shrugged off as NIMBYs, as I’m seeing done in this thread.
It’s not that data centres aren’t seen as important infrastructure, and the article doesn’t really talk about people considering them unsightly/not wanting them nearby. The concerns detailed in the article are about two main issues:
.
1 Energy
– Data Centres require a lot of it. If more data centres are built, will this cause energy bills to rise? Realistically it could if capacity is not added to our supply faster than it takes to build these data centres.
– Considering the UK isn’t fully on renewables yet, will increased energy use by data centres be harmful to the planet? Is that justified, given we already have many data centres / can we not just take a holistic view and build data centres more slowly?
.
2 Water
– A lot of water will be needed for cooling. Who is going to do the work to set up the water cooling systems? Our failing water companies… might we prefer they prioritise fixing the many miles of leaky Victorian sewage pipes before linking up data centres to our water network?
– If more water is being utilised, are we going to need to build more reservoirs first? Building reservoirs is costly. Will the tax payer find themselves paying for this somehow?
.
Again, to reiterate, nothing against data centres. Useful, more need to be built in this country. The concerns are more about whether the pace of construction will cause knock on issues to the taxpayer and planet. Maybe data centres can be built at pace without impacting British people – if that’s the case, great – but it’s not being a Luddite to hope there is a joined up approach to installing them over the next decade.
neo101b on
Besides the energy concerns, I think its great news.
Bringing tech jobs into the uk is what we need, rather than having them else where.
Its a shame they don’t use hydro electricity, build dams and have the data centres next to them.
The water could be used for cooling too.
personalunderclock on
It is a bit of a case of: do we want employment opportunities or construction to cease? Pick one. It’s no good to whine about how the country is in the shitter and real terms pay is down but then turn around and whine about a new centre of employment popping up.
dbxp on
From what I’ve heard the ones in London may be more theoretical, the local power grid is running into capacity issues so new high voltage lines need to be laid and new sub stations built. There really should be more investment outside London for better redundancy, Manchester has very few data centres for its size and Scotland has ample water resources.
Virtual-Baseball-297 on
Why pick the UK with is pretty anti business atm
When you could pick the USA?
Additionally, could you imagine a US company picking UK over the US and Trumps reaction?
Oh – and net zero? All that electricity being used?
This will fail.
MrSierra125 on
Meanwhile our electricity industry is privatised and we are asked to clear our emails
plawwell on
People who don’t know:
* Data centers do not create any new jobs
* They recycle the water they use which can be gotten from rainwater traps.
Fellowes321 on
We need more jobs, we need more housing but development is blocked. The same people complain about lack of investment and high unemployment.
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31 Kommentare
So the NIMBYs are even getting into the headlines now
i hope we’ve got some paper based record hidden deep underground or some kill switch to prepare ourselves for skynet’s takeover.
Why can’t we put a stipulation these data centers should help fund and invest in clean green power??
Surely the RoI would still work?
But…. electricity capacity….water for cooling…. sorry, we need power and water for our data centres. Joe public doesn’t need those…
Half the reason the UK’s economy is mediocre is because whenever any sector starts to do well people turn on it.
>The number of data centres in the UK is set to increase by almost a fifth, according to figures shared with BBC News.
>
>Data centres are giant warehouses full of powerful computers used to run digital services from movie streaming to online banking – there are currently an estimated 477 of them in the UK.
>
>Construction researchers Barbour ABI have analysed planning documents and say that number is set to jump by almost 100, as the growth in artificial intelligence (AI) increases the need for processing power.
For the economic good of us all, it’s best if NIMBYs have their taps and electricity supply disconnected. Only then can they live their virtuous lives, untroubled by societal change.
This is what happens when you don’t delete your old emails.
I’m sure the millions of people not posting it collecting dvds to watch must save more power than the electricity used in the data centre. Same argument for online banking.
Why car use seems to keep going up is another question though.
This is great news for the UK. Concerns of data centres in the USA have always been about water consumption for cooling, but as a naturally drenched country, unlikely to be an issue.
Watched a video the other day about how much energy these places use. Can’t remember the exact figure but a simple animation was around 0.01 KW/h. Multiply that by millions of requests per hour and the energy use is insane. Alongside that the need to use a lot of water for cooling.
I wish we did more of this: [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939558](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-64939558) our swimming pools and generally leisure facilities are on the brink of collapse, if we can offset the cost with data centres that’s a win win in my books
Why London? This is our most expensive land and highest local wages.
The speed of light is quite fast.
Cooling is cheaper up north/Wales/scotland, water is more plentiful, land is cheaper, wages are lower.
There needs to be some joined up thinking here. The number of computation tasks that need co-location are vanishingly small.
Where is all the water coming for the data centers? Serious question I would rather drink our water rather than a computer
Have to be careful of Miliband shutting the power off.
All so people can create videos and pictures on the various AI platforms. What a waste.
We will pay for this in higher electricity bills, as the companies doing things like this, always expect the general public to pay for it, one way or another.
Why can’t they use the heat generated to keep some houses warm through the winter?
How can any company afford to run a data centre in the UK?
We have the highest industrial electricity costs and the most arrests for comments
Meanwhile solar farms get denied planning permission constantly… how are we intending to power these new data centres?
We need to stop the data centres, they are going to destroy the country and those in charge don’t care they just want to see a bigger number in their bank accounts
„Concerns mount“, this is just another „fears grow“.
I hate journalism these days.
Though the opportunity for domestic data storage is welcome, I fail to see what major job opportunities these will create. They’ll need to be built, for sure, and they’ll need a limited number and techies to maintain them, plus some security guards.
Where are you going to get the water. The water company’s are already crap.
I don’t think people raising concerns should be shrugged off as NIMBYs, as I’m seeing done in this thread.
It’s not that data centres aren’t seen as important infrastructure, and the article doesn’t really talk about people considering them unsightly/not wanting them nearby. The concerns detailed in the article are about two main issues:
.
1 Energy
– Data Centres require a lot of it. If more data centres are built, will this cause energy bills to rise? Realistically it could if capacity is not added to our supply faster than it takes to build these data centres.
– Considering the UK isn’t fully on renewables yet, will increased energy use by data centres be harmful to the planet? Is that justified, given we already have many data centres / can we not just take a holistic view and build data centres more slowly?
.
2 Water
– A lot of water will be needed for cooling. Who is going to do the work to set up the water cooling systems? Our failing water companies… might we prefer they prioritise fixing the many miles of leaky Victorian sewage pipes before linking up data centres to our water network?
– If more water is being utilised, are we going to need to build more reservoirs first? Building reservoirs is costly. Will the tax payer find themselves paying for this somehow?
.
Again, to reiterate, nothing against data centres. Useful, more need to be built in this country. The concerns are more about whether the pace of construction will cause knock on issues to the taxpayer and planet. Maybe data centres can be built at pace without impacting British people – if that’s the case, great – but it’s not being a Luddite to hope there is a joined up approach to installing them over the next decade.
Besides the energy concerns, I think its great news.
Bringing tech jobs into the uk is what we need, rather than having them else where.
Its a shame they don’t use hydro electricity, build dams and have the data centres next to them.
The water could be used for cooling too.
It is a bit of a case of: do we want employment opportunities or construction to cease? Pick one. It’s no good to whine about how the country is in the shitter and real terms pay is down but then turn around and whine about a new centre of employment popping up.
From what I’ve heard the ones in London may be more theoretical, the local power grid is running into capacity issues so new high voltage lines need to be laid and new sub stations built. There really should be more investment outside London for better redundancy, Manchester has very few data centres for its size and Scotland has ample water resources.
Why pick the UK with is pretty anti business atm
When you could pick the USA?
Additionally, could you imagine a US company picking UK over the US and Trumps reaction?
Oh – and net zero? All that electricity being used?
This will fail.
Meanwhile our electricity industry is privatised and we are asked to clear our emails
People who don’t know:
* Data centers do not create any new jobs
* They recycle the water they use which can be gotten from rainwater traps.
We need more jobs, we need more housing but development is blocked. The same people complain about lack of investment and high unemployment.