WIREDGOV

Access our report examining how the UK’s data centres are adapting to climate risks and the steps needed to ensure their long-term resilience.

As climate risks intensify, data centres – a cornerstone of the UK economy and society – are under mounting pressure to adapt. With their recent designation as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI), the role of data centres in sustaining the UK’s digital economy and ensuring operational resilience has never been more critical.

Download the report

Data centres face a dual challenge – maintaining operational continuity amidst escalating physical climate risks such as heatwaves and water stress while navigating transitional risks linked to evolving regulations and shifting market dynamics. This report, submitted under Defra's Adaptation Reporting Power, provides a comprehensive analysis of these challenges and the sector's efforts to adapt.

The report explores the physical and transitional climate risks facing the sector, strategies for building resilience, and key barriers to adaptation. It highlights how data centres are proactively addressing these challenges through innovation, adherence to industry standards, and collaboration. Recommendations for policymakers and insights into resilience-building across interconnected sectors are also included.

Key findings

• Physical risks: Heatwaves and water stress are identified as the highest climate risks for UK data centres. Heatwaves increase cooling demands and strain energy infrastructure, while water stress challenges the use of evaporative cooling systems. Building in redundancies across power, cooling, and connectivity systems is essential to maintaining operations under these conditions.
• Transitional risks: Evolving regulations, market trends, and technological advancements pose transitional risks for data centres, often resulting in unforeseen costs and operational adjustments. Maintaining compliance while continuing to invest in resilience measures remains a significant challenge for the sector.
• Resilience by default: Data centres are designed with resilience in mind, with site selection, operational planning, and redundancy as core principles. However, as climate challenges escalate, these inherent measures need to be continuously adapted to evolving risks.
• Self-regulation: The data centre sector demonstrates high levels of self-regulation, often exceeding government mandates. Operators adopt stringent industry standards and proactively address resilience gaps, but government incentives – such as streamlined permitting for resilient designs or targeted grants – could further drive innovation and compliance.
• On-premise data centres: Many small on-premise data centres, especially in the public sector, lack the resilience measures seen in commercial facilities. These facilities are often underfunded, rely on outdated infrastructure, and are not obligated to meet industry-wide resilience standards, making them a weak link in the UK's digital infrastructure.
• Clustering: The concentration of data centres in specific regions, such as Greater London, intensifies the impact of localised climate risks, such as heatwaves or power disruptions. While clustering is driven by proximity to fibre and energy infrastructure, it highlights the need for more geographically diverse data centre developments.
• Dependencies on utilities: The sector’s reliance on energy and water infrastructure poses significant risks. Inadequate grid capacity is particularly concerning as energy demand surges with the adoption of AI. Meanwhile, trade-offs between energy and water efficiency in cooling systems add complexity to resilience efforts.
• Policymaker engagement: Data centres report that policymakers often lack an understanding of their operational realities. Greater dialogue and collaboration between the sector and government are essential to aligning regulatory frameworks with the unique needs of data centres and fostering resilience.
• Areas for improvement: Data centres excel at resilience planning but could benefit from greater open-mindedness, particularly in adopting new technologies and approaches for mitigating power disruptions. Enhanced investments in research and development (R&D) are essential to achieving sustainability and resilience outcomes.

Click here for the full press release