The increasing demand for AI is prompting leading technology companies to explore alternative solutions for powering their data centers. Microsoft, in particular, is considering using nuclear energy to meet this demand.
But the challenges facing companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon go beyond securing affordable and environmentally friendly energy sources. They are also struggling to find suitable locations for new data centers that provide the necessary infrastructure, including adequate power and connectivity.
As traditional locations become saturated, tech giants are increasingly considering more unconventional sites, including repurposing old industrial facilities and disused power plants.
Not without problems
The Financial Timesand quotes Adam Cookson, head of land transactions at real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield’s EMEA data centre advisory group, as saying that “many data centre markets are ‘severely constrained in terms of land availability and power supply’, which in turn has fuelled interest in smaller markets and ‘more complicated sites’ such as old power stations.”
Camilla Hodgson, author FT The article states: “Coal-fired power plants are being retired in parts of the US and Europe, but may have the characteristics needed for a data center campus. Industrial sites, for example, are typically designed for high power consumption and may have power transmission infrastructure and be close to a water source.”
Of course, converting such sites is not without its challenges, particularly when it comes to reconnecting them to the electricity grid. However, converting old industrial sites is increasingly seen as a more viable option than building entirely new facilities.
According to the article, Microsoft plans to build data centers at the sites of the decommissioned Eggborough and Skelton Grange power stations near Leeds, England, with construction at Eggborough expected to begin in 2027. Amazon is reportedly planning a project at the site of the old Birchwood power station in Virginia.
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