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Proposed UK datacentres projected to exceed ExxonMobil emissions
Analysis by Foxglove estimates the Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire sites would each rely on 1.3 GW of power and generate over 4.5m tonnes of annual carbon emissions when fully running.
Two planned UK datacentres in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire are projected to have higher carbon emissions than all of ExxonMobil’s UK emissions, according to analysis cited in a Guardian Business report.
The non-profit group Foxglove estimates that the proposed Wapseys Wood and Quest Park datacentres, once fully operational, would use 1.3 GW of power and produce more than 4.5m tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
The comparison draws on ExxonMobil UK emissions of 3.9m tonnes in 2023, based on data from the global energy thinktank Ember, with the report noting the large electricity demand from AI servers and cooling systems.
The analysis also points to the UK electricity grid connection queue, citing 315 datacentres awaiting connection for a combined 73 GW of demand. Because of connection delays, the projects are seeking to build on-site gas-fired power stations, which Foxglove calculated would produce 4.577m tonnes of carbon emissions per year, though a government spokesperson said the figures were misleading due to assumptions about 100 percent utilisation from day one.