United Kingdom: National Grid warns of significnlty increased power demand

The CEO of British utility National Grid has warned that data center power use is set to grow dramatically which will put further strain on an already-constrained grid. John Pettigrew said that the UK's energy industry has reached a "pivotal moment," and pitched the development of an ultra-high voltage onshore transmission network.

He said, "Demand on the grid is growing dramatically, and forecast to double by 2050 as heat, transport, and industry continue to electrify. Future growth in foundational technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing will mean larger-scale, energy-intensive computing infrastructure. Demand from commercial data centers will increase six-fold, just in the next ten years, and in homes, there will be an increasing shift towards heat pumps and electric vehicles."

"This would be superimposed on the existing supergrid, a super-supergrid if you like. This new grid would enable bulk power transfers around the country, with strategically located ultra-high capacity substations, supporting the connection of big energy sources to big demand centers via the new network. This model consolidates infrastructure by connecting the larger capacity hubs in the places they’re most needed. It is both a strategic and proactive approach instead of today’s incremental, tactical, and reactive one."