Advancing AI and quantum computing, as well as the expanded reliance on cloud data, is set to increase the energy usage of data centres six-fold in the next ten years.
This is according to John Pettigrew, chief executive of the National Grid. In a speech at the Aurora Spring Forum, shared on LinkedIn, Pettigrew lamented how the current energy system was “constrained” as demand grew for energy.
As more people rely on advanced, power-hungry technology in their daily lives, and turn to heat pumps and electric vehicles, the energy sector is transforming, and infrastructure must keep up.
While Pettigrew celebrated some of the National Grid’s environmental achievements, such as the reduction of coals contribution to energy to just 1% in 2023, he is “in no doubt about the distance still to go to deliver the energy transition.”
But the UK is facing an energy crisis similar to what if faced in the 1950s, when the UK’s original grid was at capacity. Technology engineers designed the ‘supergrid’ in response. 70 years on, the grid is still powering the UK to this day.
“Demand on the grid is growing dramatically, and forecast to double by 2050 as heat, transport, and industry continue to electrify,” Pettigrew said.
With demand on data centres to increase six fold in the next ten years, and more homes opting for electric heat and vehicles, the demands on this already constrained network is set to increase.
The International Energy Agency has predicted that that global electricity demand is set to double by just 2026, largely driven by the growth of AI.
A PhD candidate based in the Netherlands found that by the year 2027, the AI industry could consume the same amount of energy per hour as the a small country.
For these reasons, Pettigrew emphasised the folly of continuing an incremental approach to energy transformation.
“As we look towards the strategic spatial energy plan, do we also need to take a collective step back, and consider whether there are alternative long-term approaches to build a grid that is fit not just for the next 20 years, but for the next 60,” he said.
Potential approaches include building an ultra-high voltage onshore transmission net for of up to 800 thousand volts, which would be added to the current supergrid – “a super-supergrid if you like.”
Transitioning from a network of hundreds of individual connection projects to more centralised capacity hubs is also be part of the transition, using existing infrastructure, to create “a capacity rich network designed for growth.”
Pettigrew said that this new outlook does not change current priorities, the need for “The Great Grid Upgrade,” or energy transition targets.
“But what I’ve set out is a vision for the future and how we can transform our electricity network to make the country’s economic growth ambitions possible. And the time is right to think beyond tomorrow,” he said.
Energy News Beat