- Second meeting to focus on bringing the energy grid up to speed to power the next wave of AI breakthroughs.
- Major tech and energy companies to attend, following £2 billion to accelerate the use of AI in boosting productivity and growth across the UK.
- Comes in addition to reforming the connections process so data centres can quickly get up and running – increasing investment and speeding up breakthroughs using AI.
The energy demands to drive the processing power needed for new waves of AI breakthroughs, and the future energy needs of the wider AI sector will be on the agenda as the AI Energy Council gathers today (30 June).
With energy providers, tech companies, energy regulator Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) convening, this second meeting will discuss how to work together to forecast how much energy will be needed to deliver a twenty-fold increase in compute capacity over the next 5 years.
Compute represents the key building block of AI development. It captures the vital resources which make AI models work, such as the processing power which allows them to be trained on data and process information. By increasing the UK’s capacity, it will give scientists and AI companies from across the UK access to the systems they need for their cutting-edge research – making the next big breakthrough from personalised medical treatments, more sustainable air travel, or developing new tools in the fight against climate change.
The meeting is also expected to cover which sectors are likely to quickly adopt AI and how this could drive significant shifts in energy demand. Discussions will focus on what assumptions need to be made to accurately forecast that demand, ensuring the energy system is prepared for AI.
Chaired by the Technology and Energy Secretaries, the meeting comes hot on the heels of the UK government announcing £2 billion to deliver the AI Opportunities Action Plan.
The Action Plan serves as a blueprint to turbocharge the use of AI, whether it’s in hospitals to help diagnose patients more quickly, in schools to help with lesson planning so teachers have more time in front of the whiteboard, or delivering new AI Growth Zones which will unlock scores of new investment and jobs to revitalize local communities and deliver the economic growth driving the government’s Plan for Change.
Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Peter Kyle said:
Giving our researchers and innovators access to the processing power they need will not only maintain our standing as the world’s third-biggest AI power, but put British expertise at the heart of the AI breakthroughs which will improve our lives, modernise our public services, and spark the economic growth which is the cornerstone of our Plan for Change.
We are clear-eyed though on the need to make sure we can power this golden era for British AI through responsible, sustainable energy sources. Today’s talks will help us drive forward that mission, delivering AI infrastructure which will benefit communities up and down the country for generations to come without ever compromising on our clean energy superpower ambitions.
Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband said:
We are making the UK a clean energy superpower, building the homegrown energy this country needs to get bills down for good and create new jobs as part of our Plan for Change.
Bringing together the biggest players in AI and energy will help us discuss the role AI can play an important role in building a new era of clean electricity for our country, and meeting the power demands of new technology as we build a clean power system for families and businesses.
With energy providers, tech companies, energy regulator Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) convening today, they’ll discuss how to work together to forecast how much energy will be needed to deliver this twenty-fold increase in compute capacity over the next 5 years. The meeting is also expected to cover which sectors are likely to quickly adopt AI and how this could drive significant shifts in energy demand.
The meeting will consider the future energy needs of the AI sector more widely, as the government also continues to move forward with its plans to roll out AI Growth Zones across the country. These hotbeds of AI development will unlock billions in investment and deliver scores of new jobs across the country, with communities throughout the UK having already expressed an interest in being home to future growth zone sites.
Since establishing the AI Energy Council in January, government has been deepening its work both Ofgem and the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to deliver fundamental reforms to the UK’s connections process. Once final signoffs from Ofgem are in place, this could mean more than 400GW of additional capacity is freed up from the grid connection queue – turbocharging the AI projects which are vital to economic growth.
Further Information
The Technology and Energy Secretary are joined at today’s meeting by representatives of:
- Microsoft
- Amazon Web Services
- Equinix
- Brookfield
- ARM
- Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA)
- National Energy System Operator (NESO)
- Ofgem
- National Grid
- Energy Networks Association
- Scottish Power
- Nuclear Industry Association
- EDF Energy
- International Energy Agency
