Britain’s race to build the infrastructure underpinning AI is moving beyond its traditional data centre heartlands, with Xlinks unveiling plans for a £3.6bn AI campus in north Devon as developers search for land and grid capacity.
The energy developer, whose Morocco-UK power project was shelved by the government earlier this year, wants to build a large AI data centre campus alongside battery storage near Great Torrington.
Xlinks said the development could create between 650 and 1,200 jobs and generate up to £3.6bn for the economy. The campus would occupy just over a third of an 850-acre site between Great Torrington, Weare Giffard and Huntshaw.
The proposal comes as AI drives an unprecedented wave of demand for data centres across Britain, with the facilities having been designated as critical national infrastructure in 2024, while developers are increasingly looking beyond London and the South East as grid constraints and long connection queues make new sites harder to secure.
According to the House of Commons Library, data centres already account for around 2.5 per cent of UK electricity consumption, with demand expected to increase sharply as AI adoption accelerates.
Research from Capgemini also found nearly 80 per cent of utility executives expect AI to make electricity demand significantly more volatile, while more than two-thirds believe data centre demand is likely to outpace power supply.
Claire Gauthier, Capgemini’s global head of energy and utilities, said: “The challenge is no longer only how much power is needed, but whether it can be delivered reliably, where and when it is required.”
Xlinks said Devon offered several advantages, including access to renewable energy, relatively cool year-round temperatures and spare capacity at the Alverdiscott substation, originally intended to receive electricity from its Morocco renewable energy scheme.
The company said the campus would provide “the brains behind the AI models that increasingly power everyday digital life.”
Local concerns meet AI push #
The plans have prompted questions from local residents over the scale of the development and its impact on the surrounding countryside ahead of formal planning applications, with hundreds attending a public meeting this week.
Residents have raised concerns over noise, light pollution, water consumption and electricity demand, all of which have become increasingly contentious issues as ever-larger AI data centres are built around the world.
Helen Lewis told the BBC: “My concerns are around noise, light pollution, destruction of our beautiful countryside and wildlife.”
She added that she was also worried about fire risks and “the amount of water and electricity the site would use”.
Adrian Del Maestro, vice president of global energy markets at Aecom, said developers are increasingly prioritising locations where electricity infrastructure already exists.
“If you look at a map of the UK, most of the data centres are in west London because there’s existing infrastructure,” he said. “However, it is highly congested and we’ve got very long grid connection times.”
Arup data centre leader Gareth Williams has added that developers are increasingly looking towards cooler locations with access to renewable power, particularly for AI training facilities that do not need to be located close to end users
Meanwhile, soaring investment into AI infrastructure is already having knock-on effects elsewhere in the tech industry.
James Bull, senior technology analyst at RSM UK, said the world’s largest technology companies are forecast to spend $725bn on AI infrastructure and data centres this year, creating shortages of key components.
“The AI investment cycle is no longer contained within the technology sector,” Bull said. “It is seeping into consumer products, corporate procurement budgets and even potentially the inflation outlook. The cost of building the AI economy is being quietly passed onto ordinary consumers.”
Xlinks chief executive James Humfrey said the company expected the proposals to prompt scrutiny: “We know a project of this scale will raise questions and we’d expect nothing less from a community that cares about where they live.”
Humfrey said a series of public consultation events later this month would allow residents to examine the plans in more detail.