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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Robert Booth UK technology editor

New UK AI datacentre could cause five times emissions of Birmingham airport

Inside a datacentre
A UK government minister has called datacentres ‘the engines of the AI age’. Photograph: David Levene/The Guardian

A vast new datacentre to feed Britain’s rising demand for artificial intelligence could cause more greenhouse gas emissions than five international airports.

Elsham datacentre in Lincolnshire is on course to cost £10bn and its 15 power-hungry computer warehouses are projected to release five times the carbon dioxide of Birmingham airport, including from take-offs and landings.

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