{"slug": "zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres", "title": "Zack Polanski Calls for Temporary Ban on ‘Energy Guzzling’ Data Centres", "summary": "Green party leader Zack Polanski has called on the UK government to impose a temporary ban on new data centres, citing their high energy and water consumption amid a national drought. Polanski criticized Labour's 2024 decision to classify data centres as 'critical infrastructure', arguing that 'critical infrastructure is water, electricity, hospitals – it isn't AI for tech billionaires.' The UK currently has over 500 data centres, with at least 183 more planned, and water companies warn that government forecasts have not accounted for their water usage.", "body_md": "# Zack Polanski Calls for Temporary Ban on ‘Energy Guzzling’ Data Centres\n\n## ‘Critical infrastructure is water, electricity, hospitals – it isn’t AI for tech billionaires.’\n\n### by [Sophia Sheera](https://novaramedia.com/contributor/sophia-sheera/)\n\n### 28 August 2026\n\nZack Polanski has told the government to “slam the brakes” on “water-guzzling” data centres.\n\nIn an interview with the BBC on Friday, the Green party leader accused Labour of prioritising “AI tech billionaires” over water-stressed communities – at a time when most of the country is already in drought.\n\nHe urged prime minister Andy Burnham to pause the construction of new centres, citing concerns that their environmental impact has not been properly assessed.\n\nAccording to the Times, there are more than [500 data centres ](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/environment/article/zack-polanski-data-centres-greens-vsz2jmv0l)in the UK – but their number is set to swell by at least another 183 in the coming years.\n\nThe Labour government has made it a national priority to speed through the construction of data centres so that the UK can compete in the global AI race. But government forecasts have failed to take into account their water consumption, putting the country at risk of shortages, [water companies have said](https://novaramedia.com/2026/07/21/britain-does-not-have-enough-water-for-planned-ai-data-centre-boom/).\n\nEnvironmental charity Friends of the Earth is also [calling for a moratorium ](https://action.friendsoftheearth.uk/petition/stop-data-centres-draining-resources)on data centres until proper assessments are made.\n\nA large data centres is estimated [to use as much energy](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64429819) as a medium-sized town.\n\nPolanski also criticised Labour’s 2024 decision to designate data centres as “critical infrastructure”, putting them on par with hospitals and transport networks.\n\n“To most people, critical infrastructure is water, electricity, hospitals – it isn’t AI for tech billionaires,” he said, adding that companies behind data centres should prove that their water use is sustainable before depleting public reserves.\n\nA government spokesperson told the BBC: “A pause on building new data centres would simply send investment and good jobs abroad, while leaving Britain dependent on overseas computing. Put simply: it would be a disaster for jobs and national security.\n\n“That said, this does not mean a blank cheque for Big Tech or that every data centre should be approved.”\n\nThe Scottish government is already [considering a moratorium](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/25/never-seen-this-level-of-objection-scotland-pushes-back-against-datacentre-boom) on data centres, with MSPs saying they’ve never seen such local opposition to development.\n\nSophia Sheera is a journalist in Novara Media’s social media team.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres", "canonical_source": "https://novaramedia.com/2026/08/28/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres/", "published_at": "2026-08-28 11:56:15+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-28 12:19:00.091710+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Zack Polanski", "Green party", "Labour", "Andy Burnham", "Friends of the Earth", "BBC", "The Times", "Scottish government"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/zack-polanski-calls-for-temporary-ban-on-energy-guzzling-data-centres.jsonld"}}