AI datacentres plan on-site power stations on huge scale despite climate risks, research reveals

181GW of gas-fired capacity proposed for sites in US and Europe because of delays in connecting to national grids, says report

Developers of AI datacentres plan to build on-site climate-destroying gas power stations on a huge scale to meet their energy demands, research reveals.

Datacentres planned across the US, the UK and mainland Europe have proposals to build fossil fuel plants on-site to create 181GW of gas-fired capacity because of delays to connect to national grids, according to the findings. This is almost four times the total peak electricity demand of Great Britain.