Britons more supportive of data centres if they commit to sharing excess heat, poll finds

New polling conducted by Censuswide and commissioned by energy experts EnergiRaven, has found that the majority of Britons (58%) think planning permission for data centres should depend on the facilities sharing excess heat with residents via a local network[i].

EnergiRaven claims that this reinforces both their and industry body ADE’s call to update local planning rules to incentivise using easily recoverable heat from data centres. It is projected that doing so could deliver enough heat to support 3.5 million homes across the UK by 2035, increasing energy security and bringing down bills. The findings come shortly after an announcement of £90m in government funding for new and expanded heat networks across the UK via the Heat Network Efficiency Scheme and Green Heat Network Fund[ii].

In fact, almost two thirds (62%) of survey respondents said that they would be more supportive of a new or expanded data centre in their area if it committed to heating nearby homes and businesses through a heat network using its waste heat.

EnergiRaven and ADE have emphasised that simple policy fixes could help kick start heat sharing between data centres and homes, as part of heat networks that capture and re-use excess heat from a range of sources, from water treatment to breweries. They recommend that data centres that co-locate with heat networks, industrial sites, thermal storage, and/or provide flexibility services to the grid, should get higher priority in grid and planning decisions.

Growing scrutiny of data-centre impacts

Across the globe, data centres are facing increased push-back, as the environmental and social impacts of the facilities become more apparent and pressing.  Recent estimates find that global electricity demand from data centres is set to more than double over the next 5 years, reaching 945 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2030. Notably this figure is equivalent to Japan’s current annual electricity usage and represents an almost 128% increase from the 415 TWh of power used by data centres in 2024[iii].

Earlier this year a paper published in Nature Reviews Clean Technology argued that recent climate gains achieved by renewable energy expansion are at risk of being wiped out, as AI and data centre energy demands soar. The researchers found that the rapid expansion of renewable energy is being used to meet rising electricity demand, rather than displacing fossil fuels. They highlight that during the first three quarters of 2025, record growth in solar power helped raise clean electricity generation to outpace global growth in electricity demand for the first time[iv]. Data centres have also faced scrutiny over water use, with many facilities relying on potable water for cooling.

In response to concerns, the EU has proposed a common rating scheme for data centres[v]. The rating scheme will cover individual data centres with a capacity above 500 kW. It will also cover data centres' contribution to the grid, such as the reuse of waste heat, the addition of clean energy generation capacities as well as flexibility. The EU estimates that reusing around half of all waste heat from European data centres would equate to the total heating demand of 4 million households in Europe.

The bloc is currently targeting a tripling of its data centre capacity over the next five to seven years, but stresses that it recognises the range of environmental and resource-based challenges this presents. Alongside increased pressure on electricity grids, the EU also expects greater demand for water, as well as a likely uptick in carbon emissions as data centre buildout continues. To limit these impacts, the Commission states that it is essential that data centres are highly energy and water efficient and must be sustainably integrated into the energy system. It suggests that “Sustainable, flexible and well-designed data centres that can adjust their electricity use to the grids conditions, can help lower the overall cost of the electricity system, improve grid stability, and integrate more renewable energy.”[vi]

References

[i] Polling finds most Brits want data centres to share heat to get planning permission - ACR Journal

[ii] Ibid

[iii] Data centre energy requirements to double in the next 5 years, as AI demands soar

[iv] Climate gains from renewables risk being wiped out by rising AI and data centre demands

[v] Commission enhances energy efficiency and sustainability of data centres in the EU

[vi] Ibid

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