Latest posts
Personal and banking details among customer data stolen in Origin Energy hack
Hackers access Australian customers’ names, addresses, dates of birth, phone numbers and some bank account details, company says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Origin Energy customers’ addresses, phone numbers and partial bank account data have been accessed in a hack,…
Revealed: landmark Scottish AI project has no prospect of meeting renewables promise
Exclusive: Government and developers privately acknowledged Lanarkshire datacentre site had power provision ‘issue’ ‘It’s smoke and mirrors’: hope turns to fear in Scottish village chosen for AI datacentre What are Britain’s AI growth zones and are the plans feasible or ‘complete bunk’? A landmark AI development billed as delivering jobs and prosperity has misrepresented its…
‘We’re up against forces that have all the money in the world’: Erin Brockovich on her battle against AI datacentres
In 1993, she squeezed a $333m settlement from a Californian energy company in a scandal over contaminated water. Three decades later, she has a new target in her sights – and it’s global When Erin Brockovich woke to find 30 emails from people from the same town, she realised something was going on. People email…
World’s first wind-powered underwater datacentre starts operating in China
Datacentre off Shanghai coast uses less power and water than land-based equivalent The world’s first wind-powered underwater datacentre has started operations off the coast of Shanghai, as China presses forwards with solutions for energy challenges created by the country’s artificial intelligence boom. The Shanghai Lingang undersea datacentre demonstration project, which launched in May, has a…
‘Hidden datacentre tax’ costing Irish households millions, report says
Datacentres used 22% of country’s electricity last year, pushing up household bills, study suggests Energy demand by datacentres in Ireland has added hundreds of euros to household electricity bills in a pattern that could be replicated across Europe, according to a report. Ireland’s growing number of datacentres last year used 22% of the country’s electricity,…
Scotland’s ‘green datacentres’ policy ignores emissions impact of AI, analysis shows
Definition of green facilities made in 2022, before release of ChatGPT, says Action to Protect Rural Scotland A Scottish government policy designed to encourage datacentres to build in Scotland could lead to a massive volume of carbon emissions being ignored, according to an analysis by a Scottish charity. “Green datacentres” are at the heart of…
Datacentres using 6% of electricity supply in UK and US, research says
Industry body says energy consumption driven by AI up 15% globally in two years as it warns of societal backlash Datacentres are consuming 6% of electricity in the UK and US, with the growing strain of AI on energy supplies prompting community resistance, according to research. The proportion of electricity used by vast warehouses stacked…
Officials hugely underestimated impact of AI datacentres on UK carbon emissions
Revised figures increase fears about energy-intensive datacentres worsening climate emergency The UK government vastly underestimated the climate impact of artificial intelligence, it has emerged, after officials raised their estimate of carbon emissions from AI by a factor of more than 100. According to new data quietly published this week, energy use by AI datacentres in…
Rolls-Royce secures nearly £600m in UK government cash to develop small reactors
Engine-maker CEO hails ‘critical milestone’ for company in race to deliver SMR technology built at Wylfa plant on Anglesey Business live – latest updates Rolls-Royce has secured up to £599m from Britain’s national wealth fund as it races to develop the UK’s first small modular nuclear reactors. The fund will help support Rolls-Royce’s design of…
Revolut warns it risks backlash over support for energy-intensive AI and crypto
Fintech company’s profits leap to £1.7bn as it gears up for US push after getting UK banking licence this month Business live – latest updates The UK banking app Revolut has said it could face a backlash over its support for energy-intensive sectors such as crypto and AI, as it posted a 57% increase in…