Britain opens floodgates to US datacenter investment
- Reference: 1728987314
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/10/15/uk_datacenter_investment/
- Source link:
Objections to datacenter builds may be overruled now they are 'Critical National Infrastructure' [1]READ MORE
Timed to coincide with the government's International Investment Summit in London this week aimed at attracting overseas businesses to bring their money to Britain, the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology (DSIT) claimed the move takes the total investment in UK bit barns to over £25 billion ($32.5 billion) since the administration took office.
The four American companies involved are datacenter operators CyrusOne and CloudHQ, business workflow software company ServiceNow, and CoreWeave, a provider of cloud-hosted GPUs.
The quartet's investment will provide the UK with more compute power and data storage, DSIT said, so that Britain has the necessary infrastructure to train and deploy the next generation of AI technologies.
CoreWeave had already announced a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) investment into the rain-soaked British Isles [2]back in May to set up its European headquarters here and build a pair of AI data shacks. According to DSIT, the company is stumping up an additional £750 million ($896 million) to "support the next generation of AI cloud infrastructure," but it isn't clear if this means additional datacenters or not.
[3]
Likewise, CloudHQ had already secured planning permission to build its £1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) campus in Didcot, Oxfordshire. The company claims it will help meet the country's growing demand for AI and machine learning, and that it will create 1,500 jobs during construction and 100 permanent jobs once fully operational.
[4]
[5]
That leaves ServiceNow, which says it plans to invest £1.15 billion ($1.5 billion) into its UK business over the next five years. This will go toward expanding its infrastructure with Nvidia GPUs and adding new office space as the company grows beyond its current headcount of 1,000 employees, it claims.
Finally, CyrusOne already has five datacenters located around London, but wants to expand its investment into the UK to £2.5 billion ($2.9 billion) over the coming years. The company says that its new projects are expected to create over 1,000 jobs and should be operational by Q4 2028, "subject to planning permission."
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Of course, "subject to planning permission" doesn't have the same connotations it once had as datacenters are now designated as CNI, meaning that developers will largely be able to override any local objections to such facilities being built in a particular area, as The Register [7]revealed last month .
[8]AI's thirst for power keeps coal fires burning bright
[9]The best use for those latest manycore chips? AI, say server vendors
[10]Energy companies told to recharge for AI datacenter surge
[11]Eric Schmidt: Build more AI datacenters, we aren't going to 'hit climate goals anyway'
"Tech leaders from all over the world are seeing Britain as the best place to invest with a thriving and stable market for datacenters and AI development," Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement.
"Datacenters power our day-to-day lives and boost innovation in growing sectors like AI. This is why only last month, I took steps to class UK datacenters as Critical National Infrastructure, giving the industry the ultimate reassurance the UK will always be a safe home for their investment."
At the event, Prime Minister Keir Starmer also took part in a debate with former Google chief Eric Schmidt.
According to [12]The Guardian , Schmidt urged Starmer to expand high-skilled immigration to help with AI, pointing out that a lot of "incredibly smart people" are now getting graduate degrees in AI, and the key is to either keep them in Britain or get them to move here from Europe.
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We're sure that went down really well with Starmer, who has repeatedly said that Britain is not going back to the freedom of movement with the rest of Europe that existed before Brexit, and also that his government will cut immigration.
Meanwhile, Schmidt has been giving various venues the benefit of his wisdom on AI. Last week he told an AI summit in Washington DC that the world should just [14]build as many AI datacenters as are needed because we aren't going to hit climate goals anyway. ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/objections_to_datacenter_builds_cni/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/13/coreweave_uk_expansion/
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Zw6Rp4p0bT2mC0zlRIcBtgAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zw6Rp4p0bT2mC0zlRIcBtgAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zw6Rp4p0bT2mC0zlRIcBtgAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Zw6Rp4p0bT2mC0zlRIcBtgAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/17/objections_to_datacenter_builds_cni/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/14/ai_datacenters_coal/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/14/manycore_chips_ai_servers/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/11/energy_companies_ai_dcs_consultant_report/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/08/eric_schmidt_speech/
[12] https://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2024/oct/14/uk-holds-international-investment-summit-keir-starmer-red-tape-rachel-reeves-growth-business-live#top-of-blog
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Zw6Rp4p0bT2mC0zlRIcBtgAAAEw&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2024/10/08/eric_schmidt_speech/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Energy, what energy?
As critical infrastructure they have priority for power, if there is a dip in supply the system will automatically cut off homes first.
Re: Energy, what energy?
@Spazturtle
People with smart meters can start getting twitchy
The Next Bubble?
Since "AI" in the sense of Large Language Models is basically bullshit-generation [see: [1]https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5 ], could this be the next tech bubble to burst?
[1] https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10676-024-09775-5
Re: The Next Bubble?
The 'Bubble' is already bursting ... but it is in S L O W M O T I O N . . . . .
The commitment will fade very quickly once the AI [cough spit] scam is fully realised by the 'Great unwashed' !!!
You can only explain away the 'Hallucinations' so many times before someone asks the obvious question ... 'Is it fixed yet !!!???'
When the answer is 'Nope !!!' the realisation that the output of the many many LLM's has to be filtered/checked by 'Meatsack computing resources' will somewhat constrain the big plans as there will be a shortage of 'experts' to do this work.
Promise BIG, deliver small .... as per usual for the 'Latest & greatest *Big thing* from the world of Venture capital and other risky investments'.
P.S.
I hear a fully working Fusion reactor will be available in only 10 years ... as per usual !!!
Keep it quiet ... don't want to open the flood gates before I invest my/your money !!!
:)
"for the proletariat" to "for the stockholder"
Everyone who's had to work sees it's a fraud, meanwhile the (private sector) party officials and their (elected) apparatchiks blithely march on. I wonder what other system mismanaged itself out of existence in a similar way in recent history?
Re: "for the proletariat" to "for the stockholder"
I wonder what other system mismanaged itself out of existence in a similar way in recent history?
Look on the bright side. If we ever get AI working, we can replace 650 MPs and their support networks.
I don't know how much development of AI will be going on, but they're certainly going suck up a lot of power. They'll be asking to build nuclear reactors next so they can use even more.
It's not surprising to see governments rowing back on climate change. It was easy a decade or more ago to set goals - even in legislation - for targets way down the road. They were far away to be SEP. Although logically it would require government action, possibly unpopular government action to meet them but they were still far enough away to let them be SEP. Now we're getting closer. The action hasn't been taken. To even get close to meeting them action would have to be taken Right Now. Aspiration is no longer enough and inspiration is lacking.
To even get close to meeting them action would have to be taken Right Now. Aspiration is no longer enough and inspiration is lacking.
It's interesting to see some.. err.. Green shoots of recovery, eg this article from the Bbc on the AlphaGoo nuclear option-
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c748gn94k95o
Nuclear power, which is virtually carbon free and provides electricity 24 hours a day, has become increasingly attractive to the tech industry as it attempts to cut emissions even as it uses more energy.
The Bbc has traditionally been very anti-nuclear but there have been more positive noises, hopefully recognising that current energy policy just isn't working. The UK needs to drastically reduce energy costs, not just to inflate the AI bubble.
Great opportunity
Nuclear power the ultimate in privatising profit and letting the public pick up the 100,000 year cost of looking after the shit they produce to make their profit. Recently got better for them, as we are also paying for construction via higher energy bills before they even generate a watt.
Re: Great opportunity
Nuclear power the ultimate in privatising profit and letting the public pick up the 100,000 year cost of looking after the shit they produce to make their profit.
I figured a neo-luddite would be along to spread FUD. Stuff like '100,000 year cost' might scare the ignorant, but basic physics tells you that anything radioactive for 100ka isn't very radioactive. But it can be literal shit. So there's a lot of deadly radioactive material produced by the NHS when they feed it to patients, then have to collect patients poop in containers for safe disposal.
The vast majority of radioactive waste by volume is stuff like that, which currently costs a large fortune to handle. Which can be as simple as digging a big hole in the ground and plonking it there until politicians get their poop together and start digging.
Alternatively, some reactor designs can just burn it and recyle it that way. There's a lot of useful fuel sitting around that's currently sitting around as very expensive 'waste'. Plus another thing neo-luddites don't seem to understand is isotopes used in radiotherapy, x-raying patients or industrial uses like x-raying aircraft parts for safety are produced in reactors. It's another one of those fun things that 'renewables' can't do, and contribute to higher costs. Plus nuclear alchemy is fascinating, and used to create a lot of vital materials.
a quartet of US tech firms have committed to the UK as the place to invest in their data facilities
All your data are belong to the NSA.
Schmidt
Surprised some of his comments didn't get more coverage, what with his opinions about democracy being a blocker and it being so much simpler if there's just one person with absolute power to ask to get things done.
Re: absolute power
Somehow, I don't think the current King Charles is going to be keen on that option, bearing in mind the fate of his err, predecessor.
Typical Gubbermint
We already have to import up to 20% of our leccy from Europe and they want to use another 20% on these DC's?
Watch out people. We had all better get used to regular Black and Brownouts.
If I was in power, I'd insist that any new DC has to also build 150% of its power consumption of new generation and provide that capacity of grid connected battery just to even out loads.
I'm not in power so nowt will happen and we will end up in darkness while all these DC's crunch AI data until the cows come home... who can't be milked because of the power being out.
We are truly doomed by this stupid Gubbermint.
Energy, what energy?
"Tech leaders from all over the world are seeing Britain as the best place to invest with a thriving and stable market for datacenters and AI development," Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement.
I guess those 'Tech leaders' haven't noticed the UK has the highest electricity costs in Europe, if not the world. Throwing up light industrial units for bit-barns is easy, providing stable power is hard, and getting harder by the week.