UK Risks Missing 2030 Clean Power Target Amid Data Center Boom

Britain’s renewable energy expansion is too slow to meet the rapidly growing electricity demand driven by data center development, threatening the country’s 2030 clean power goals, according to Aurora Energy Research. Even if data center growth stays steady, the current pace of infrastructure rollout falls short.

To meet increasing demand, the UK may need to rely more on natural gas, unless grid capacity and renewable projects are scaled up beyond existing plans. Aurora projects data centers could consume up to 10% of the UK’s electricity by 2030, compared to 4% today.

While the UK government sees economic opportunity in the data center sector, balancing this growth with its decarbonization commitments will require significant upgrades to its energy system.