AI datacentres

Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced federal legislation requiring new AI datacentres to use renewable energy and banning gas-powered ones, despite opposition from Queensland and Northern Territory officials.

Queensland and the Northern Territory rejected federal plans to mandate renewable energy use for AI datacentres, criticizing the proposals as empowering Canberra. The dispute follows a warning from S&P Global that datacentre energy consumption could surge to 10% of Australia’s total by 2035, risking higher electricity bills.

Queensland and the Northern Territory have rejected federal government plans to mandate renewable energy use for AI datacentres, dismissing the proposal as 'underdeveloped ideas'. A warning from S&P Global highlights potential energy bill increases due to rising datacentre power consumption.

The Guardian's tech reporting team is investigating the physical infrastructure of AI datacentres, revealing that an £8.2bn AI complex in rural Scotland misrepresented its renewable energy plans. The article highlights the challenges of building large-scale datacentres and the importance of on-site realities in the AI boom.

SK hynix, a South Korean chip maker, is raising $26.5bn through a US listing on the Nasdaq, capitalizing on the AI boom. The company's profits have surged due to increased demand for advanced memory chips from global AI datacentre construction.

UK government departments are conflicting over energy demand forecasts for AI datacentres, creating uncertainty in achieving net zero goals. The discrepancy highlights a clash between decarbonization efforts and ambitions to position the UK as an AI superpower.

UK government departments are conflicting over energy forecasts for AI datacenters, raising concerns about reconciling the nation's net zero goals with its ambition to become an AI superpower. Discrepancies in planning highlight challenges in aligning renewable energy strategies with high-energy AI infrastructure demands.

UK officials underestimated AI datacentres' carbon emissions by over 100 times, with revised estimates projecting 123 million tonnes of CO₂ over the next decade. This energy-intensive growth raises concerns about worsening the climate emergency.

The UK government significantly underestimated the carbon emissions from AI datacentres, with revised estimates showing a 100-fold increase. New data projects these datacentres could emit up to 123 million tonnes of CO₂ over the next decade, equivalent to emissions from 2.7 million people.