Plans for a new £10 billion artificial intelligence datacentre in Lincolnshire have sparked serious environmental concerns, with projections suggesting it could produce five times the carbon emissions of Birmingham Airport.
The proposed Elsham Tech Park, located nine miles east of Scunthorpe, would house 15 energy-intensive computer warehouses. Planning documents estimate annual emissions could reach 857,254 tonnes of CO2 once fully operational, based on the UK’s current energy mix. By comparison, Birmingham Airport’s emissions, including those from flights, are significantly lower.
A formal planning application has been submitted and is currently under public consultation until later this month.
The Elsham facility is expected to consume around 3.7 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. To offset the vast amount of heat generated, developers are considering integrating glasshouses capable of producing over 10 tonnes of tomatoes daily.
Environmental campaigners and climate researchers have raised the alarm. According to Germany’s Öko-Institut, emissions from AI datacentres are set to be six times higher in 2030 than in 2023. Greenpeace has called for any new datacentres to be matched with equivalent investments in renewable energy infrastructure.
Despite pledges from major tech firms to reduce their carbon footprints, AI demand continues to drive up emissions. Microsoft recently reported a 23% increase in overall emissions since 2020, largely due to AI expansion. Tech giants including Meta, Amazon and Google are investing heavily in nuclear energy to power their datacentre operations.
The datacentre at Elsham is intended to support the growing need for AI training and search functionalities, which require up to five times more computing power than traditional data processes.
Advocates argue that AI has the potential to support climate goals, such as improving energy grid efficiency and accelerating the development of green technologies. However, the environmental trade-offs remain contentious.
Martha Dark, co-director at London-based digital rights group Foxglove, criticised the government’s direction. She said the project pits its net zero targets against economic ambitions centred on big tech.
The developers behind Elsham Tech Park state they will aim to source green power for the facility where possible. While they acknowledge that on-site renewables are not viable due to space and scale constraints, they are relying on the hope that the National Grid will have become significantly greener by the datacentre’s launch in 2029.
Alternatives such as biomass, wind or solar were assessed but deemed unfeasible. Biomass would require 100 lorry loads of wood chips daily, wind would need 10,000 turbines, and solar panels would cover an area five times the size of Glastonbury Festival.
A government spokesperson said ministers are aware of the energy demands driving AI and are committed to sustainable power sources. They highlighted the role of advanced modular nuclear reactors in meeting future energy needs and noted recent reforms to planning laws aimed at expediting nuclear power developments.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle has called datacentres the engines of the AI era. Last month, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner overturned a council’s refusal of a £1 billion datacentre project in Hertfordshire, citing the urgent national need.
Robert Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, defended the Elsham plan, stating AI is key to medical advancements and supporting vulnerable communities. He pointed to local use of AI chatbots helping elderly residents manage their medications and remain independent.
Greystoke, the owner of Elsham Tech Park Ltd, said the project would create 900 jobs and benefit from the region’s clean energy cluster. They highlighted access to a third of the UK’s offshore wind capacity and two-thirds of the country’s licensed carbon capture and storage.
