The AI Energy Council is holding its second meeting to discuss how the UK’s energy grid can be upgraded to support the power requirements needed to run the next wave of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered applications.

The majority of technology providers have set their sights on delivering advanced AI capabilities as part of their product portfolios, which will drive up demand for AI in datacentres and subsequently lead to increases in energy usage.

Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google, recently unveiled the search engine giant’s 10th annual sustainability report, which shows that there has been a 27% increase in electricity demand for its datacentres. However, according to Brandt, despite the increase in energy consumption, Google was able to decouple operational energy growth from its associated carbon emissions. This, she said, was achieved by adding 2.5 GW of clean energy to the electricity grid.

The AI Energy Council meeting, which brings together energy providers, technology companies, energy regulator Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator (NESO), is looking to assess how stakeholders can work together to forecast the energy requirements needed to deliver a twenty-fold increase in compute capacity over the next five years.

The government’s Industrial Strategy includes a commitment to support its 50-point AI Opportunities Action Plan announced in January. The Action Plan recognises the need to build out the UK’s compute capacity to give scientists and AI companies from across the UK access to the systems they need to develop AI-based systems.

The meeting is also expected to cover which sectors are likely to quickly adopt AI and how this could drive significant shifts in energy demand. Discussions will focus on what assumptions need to be made to accurately forecast that demand, ensuring the energy system is prepared for AI. 

Secretary of state for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, said: “Giving our researchers and innovators access to the processing power they need will not only maintain our standing as the world’s third-biggest AI power, but put British expertise at the heart of the AI breakthroughs which will improve our lives, modernise our public services and spark the economic growth which is the cornerstone of our Plan for Change.

“We are clear-eyed though on the need to make sure we can power this golden era for British AI through responsible, sustainable energy sources. Today’s talks will help us drive forward that mission, delivering AI infrastructure which will benefit communities up and down the country for generations to come without ever compromising on our clean energy superpower ambitions.”

Among the areas of discussion is the UK energy requirements needed to deliver a twenty-fold increase in compute capacity over the next five years. The meeting is also expected to cover which sectors are likely to quickly adopt AI and how this could drive significant shifts in energy demand along with the future energy needs of the AI sector more widely, given the government’s strategy to roll out AI growth zones across the country. 

Once final sign-offs from energy regulator Ofgem (Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) are in place, the Department for Science Technology and Innovation said that more than 400GW of additional capacity could freed up from the grid connection queue, which would provide the electricity needed to power AI projects that the government sees as vital to economic growth.

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