Consider the situation in the UK. More than 140 data center projects have applied for a grid connection in the UK. If they all get connected they could draw 50 gigawatts of electricity, which is more than the rest of Great Britain uses in a single peak day.

Thanks to Paul at Notalotofpeopleknowthat:

AI data centres risk doubling Britain's energy use and pushing up bills
By Matthew Field  ( Telegraph)

The data centres being built to power Labour's AI ambitions will use more electricity than the rest of the country put together, the energy regulator has admitted.

Ofgem has disclosed that more than 140 data centre projects have come forward seeking grid connections, with requests for more than 50 gigawatts (GW) of capacity.

If these projects were all built and operating at full capacity, they would require more power than Britain's peak daily energy demand this month of around 45GW.

The energy watchdog said the UK power network was facing "rapidly growing demand queues" and "unprecedented large-load connection requests".

Ofgem said the volume of grid connection requests it had received "exceeds even the most ambitious demand forecasts"

Friends of the Earth have noticed that this might get in the way of the sacred cow called Climate Change (though it's hard to imagine how, since wind and solar power are free and cheap and everyone likes them, right?)

So Friends of the Earth and 5 other NGO's are warning that AI might ruin all their decarbonizing plans. But the rate of change has been extraordinary.

Ofgem has seen a surge in demand for connection applications – the total capacity of contracted connection offers rose from about 41GW in November 2024 to around 125 GW by June 2025. For comparison, peak electricity demand in Great Britain on 11 February 2026 was 45GW.

[The letter] calls for data centre developers to demonstrate that their projects will not cause an increase in the UK's overall carbon emissions or local water scarcity, as part of a forthcoming national policy statement (NPS) on data centres.

The AI race is a hell-for-leather competition to create the ultimate force-multiplier before our adversaries do. Therefore our adversaries would be crazy not to fund the non-government agencies that slow down progress.

AI is wrecking the renewables bubble even before it grows up.