"A new Google datacentre in Essex 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."
"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 CO [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 Malaga every week, according to the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization's carbon calculator."
A proposed Google hyperscale datacentre on 52 hectares in Thurrock, Essex would contain up to four datacentres on partly grey belt land. Operational emissions are projected to cause a net increase of 568,727 tonnes CO2e per year. That emission level equates to roughly 500 short-haul flights weekly using the ICAO carbon calculator. The planning application was submitted by an Alphabet subsidiary amid government efforts to expand AI capacity; ministers forecast a 13-fold rise in AI processing demand by 2035. Campaigners warn the development will increase greenhouse gas emissions and strain power and water resources, while Google describes the impact as minor.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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