Over the last three years, UK data centres have undergone significant change driven by technological, environmental, and geopolitical factors. Whilst they have existed for decades, there has been a massive growth in demand consequently making data centres one of the fastest growing industries in the world – driven by just a few major global players (Amazon, Microsoft and Google), accounting for around 85% of the world’s data centre usage. Astonishing really.
The event offered some great insights around the huge potential of data centres beyond just storage – they’re becoming an integral enabler for innovation, sustainability, skills development, and job creation. I like hearing the word “catalyst” and what Data centres can drive downstream, moving away from these dark shed stereotypes that for years have been synonymous with data centres.
Historically centred around London and the South East, there is an increasing interest in regional hubs across the North driven by lower land and energy costs, a higher propensity of manufacturing and life sciences alongside regional investment strategies such as Levelling Up and a puish from the large Mayoral Combined Authorities.
As digital strategies converge with public sector ambitions, we need to think more strategically about our investments, such as aligning data centre development with net-zero goals and carefully managing utility capacity (especially water and power), which will be vital in creating a more circular economy.
Here are my top three takeaways to consider:
- Limited Grid Capacity & Power Availability
- We need to take the long lead times for grid connections into consideration when at the planning stage, sometimes these can be up to 10-years and existing grids even supported through renewables are often under-capacity. A simple sub-station can take 2years to build !!
- Be clear where there are power constraints, particularly in areas not historically designed for high-density digital infrastructure. The demand for consumption is huge and we are now competing for energy across retrofit programmes, advanced manufacturing and transport and logistics.
- You need to consider a range of technical, strategic, and policy-driven approaches to overcome electricity grid constraints, especially in the North of England fitting into planning cycles, looking at sustainable cooling options and early dialogue with LA Planning teams, regulated industries and economic growth teams – all ensuring the best value for the land in consideration.
- Fragmented Local Planning & Regulatory Environment
- Local authority planning frameworks vary widely, with many not fully adapted for data centre development. This includes under-investment in skills and understanding, challenges around land value and resilience.
- Delays in planning approvals and lack of regional alignment can slow down investments. We have seen resource challenges and overly complex frameworks and local plans under constant review being barriers to speedy implementation.
- Environmental impact assessments (especially related to water use, noise, and land usage) can be complex and under-resourced so should be considered at the start of the project. These are critical components in any major development and if data centres are significant in terms of footprint and capacity this is a given early doors. The challenge being that an EIA doesn’t tell the whole picture around the innovation and downstream catalysing of growth that data centres bring.
- Skills & Talent Gaps
- There is a shortage of data centre-specific skills in construction, engineering, and operations across much of the North so it may be wise to combine resources and budgets to bring in specialist. If we think holistically and start early years careers training to include digital infrastructure, we stand a chance – there are organisations who are well versed in building data-centres – but the demand will outstrip the availability, and we run the risk of poor quality delivery without the expertise pipeline to sustain this growth.
- Create exciting and clear career pipelines and regional incentives to attract and retain skilled workers – engaging with educational institutions is a must and we have a role at central and local government levels to recognise digital infrastructure career paths across Fixed, Mobile and Data infrastructure to keep pace with a modern society demands. Something I am passionate about, and we are planning on working with some of our local academia to support this curricular.
If you want more information, please feel free to contact me on chris.founds@cjfoundsassociates.co.uk.
