Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman has stated that the UK needs more nuclear energy to support the data centres crucial for AI. His statement follows the Amazon subsidiary’s announcement in September last year to invest £8bn in new data centres across the UK over the next four years.
Data centres undergird the delivery if almost all digital services and can consume as much energy as a small town. In an interview with BBC News, Garman described nuclear power as a “great solution” for the sector’s burgeoning energy demands, highlighting its role as an “excellent source of zero-carbon, 24/7 power.”
Currently, the UK’s 500 data centres account for 2.5% of the nation’s electricity consumption, while Ireland’s 80 data centres use 21% of the country’s total power. Projections indicate these figures could rise to 6% and 30%, respectively, by 2030. By 2050, data centres are expected to consume nearly as much energy as all industrial users today, according to estimates from the UK’s power grid operator.
AWS CEO highlights future energy planning for AI infrastructure
Garman emphasised the importance of future energy needs in AWS’s planning. “It’s something we plan many years out,” he told BBC News. “We invest ahead. I think the world is going to have to build new technologies. I believe nuclear is a big part of that, particularly as we look 10 years out.”
French company EDF is constructing a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, with a decision pending on another at Sizewell in Suffolk. “Why are data centre providers turning to nuclear? They will need a lot of energy, reliably,” said EDF’s UK chair Alex Chisholm, echoing Garman’s sentiments. “Replication of Hinkley Point C, alongside the roll out of SMRs, can power Britain’s digital economy.”
AWS estimates that 52% of businesses are incorporating AI, with a new business adopting it every minute. “AI is one of the most transformative technologies since the internet. It’s going to have a significant effect on almost every part of our lives,” said Garman. “With any technology that is sufficiently new or hard to understand, people are probably appropriately scared of it initially, until they better understand it so that initial response is not particularly surprising.”
Amazon’s intervention in the UK’s energy debate follows allegations that the government’s technology minister has been spending too much time meeting big tech firms. According to analysis by The Guardian, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle met with representatives from companies such as Google, Amazon, Apple, and Meta 28 times over six months, a 70% increase compared to his predecessor, Michelle Donelan. Critics argue that Kyle has advanced the sector’s agenda despite concerns about online safety and creative industry protections. UKAI, a trade body for the UK’s AI industry, expressed concern that smaller players are being overshadowed by the government’s focus on big tech.
Read more: AWS to invest £8bn in UK data centres over five years
