Green Party wants to slam the brakes on UK datacenter construction until water and energy use are sorted

The Green Party of England and Wales has called on the government to halt the construction of new datacenters until they can ensure adequate water and energy resources. Currently, datacenters are classified as critical national infrastructure (CNI), which grants them special protections and preference in accessing these resources over households.

This designation, implemented in 2024, may enable developers to bypass local opposition to their construction. The Green Party argues that CNI status allows datacenters to prioritize water and energy usage, even during drought restrictions affecting over 27 million people in England. The party wants planning permission granted only when developers demonstrate compliance with the highest environmental standards and full community consultation.

According to Zack Polanski, the Green Party leader, datacenters should serve people, not the other way around. The party is also advocating for clear criteria to differentiate between datacenters vital for national security or public services and those serving private profit. It highlights that a single large-scale datacenter can consume up to 1.5 million liters of water per day, equivalent to the daily needs of a town of nearly 10,000 people.

However, water consumption varies depending on cooling systems. The government warns that a pause in building new datacenters would harm jobs and national security by sending investment abroad and leaving Britain dependent on foreign computing for sensitive data.