UK has no plans to slow down AI data center construction
The country's growth minister said the data centers will continue as "essential infrastructure" projects.
UK has no plans to slow down AI data center construction
The country’s growth minister said the data centers will continue as “essential infrastructure” projects.
As the US deals with the fallout associated with the ongoing demand for data centers, the UK is looking to capitalize on it instead, according to one of the country's ministers. Dan Tomlinson, the UK's minister for growth, told the The Financial Times that data center construction will continue as "essential infrastructure."
Tomlinson told FT that AI is becoming more widely used throughout the UK's economy, meaning the country will need more data centers to support that growth. However, the minister added that data center construction in the UK will have to invest in local communities and create jobs to receive government support. Tomlinson also told FT that the UK government has taken away some lessons from the "free-for-all in parts of the US" with data center construction and that the country would take a more nuanced approach with better oversight.
According to the UK Compute Roadmap, a policy paper detailing how the country can meet AI's growing power demands, the UK needs to have at least a computing capacity of 6GW from data centers by 2030. The UK previously made it easier for data centers to earn approvals, thanks to the "AI Growth Zones" initiative introduced by former prime minister Keir Starmer in 2025. However, UK residents have taken to protesting on sites of planned data center construction. Across the Atlantic, a majority of American voters said they're in favor of restricting the rapid pace of data center construction in local ballot results.