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

BloombergNEF research found that datacentres planned across the US, the UK and mainland Europe include proposals for 181GW of on-site gas-fired capacity, driven by delays in connecting to national grids. That is almost four times Great Britain's total peak electricity demand.

If the rollout happens, the US plants alone would emit about 345m metric tonnes of CO2e a year, equal to about 72.8m fossil fuel cars. The US accounts for 90% of the planned on-site gas stations. The report was published as the 31st UN climate summit opened in Turkey.

BloombergNEF projects that AI datacentre electricity demand will almost quadruple by 2035 to 2,354 terawatt-hours, or 7% of global demand. Its analyst warned that developers' claims the plants are temporary may not hold once the economics favour continued generation, creating a risk of fossil-fuel lock-in.

The research ties the gas plans to speed to power: developers are building their own generation because grid connections are slow. BloombergNEF's Mark Daly said the climate outcome depends on how much electricity the facilities use, how quickly grids can connect them and whether cleaner generation is added alongside that demand.

In the UK, Wapseys Wood and Quest Park are among the first datacentres fast-tracked through the nationally significant infrastructure project regime. That regime lets developers bypass locally elected planning authorities. The chancellor's backing for temporary on-site fossil plants is likely to see the approach repeated at more UK sites.

The report said connecting new datacentres to the grid is the more sustainable option, and that faster connections are central to limiting emissions and fossil fuel lock-in risk. Campaigners called private gas stations for datacentres a red line for any government serious about climate action.