Chips, compute and data centres
Data centre
In short
A data centre is a building full of computer servers, storage and network equipment, with the power and cooling to keep them running day and night. AI chatbots, cloud services and websites all run in data centres.
- Also called
- Data center, Datacentre, AI data centre
- Topic
- Chips, compute and data centres
- Level
- Beginner
The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines data centres as facilities that house servers, storage systems, networking equipment and related parts. Alongside the computers they hold cooling, backup power and other supporting infrastructure1.
Most of what a data centre does comes down to electricity. On average, servers use around 60% of a modern data centre's power. Cooling takes anywhere from about 7% in efficient large sites to over 30% in less efficient ones1.
AI has changed the scale. The IEA says a typical AI-focused data centre uses as much electricity as 100,000 households, and the largest now under construction will use 20 times that2. Data centres used about 415 terawatt-hours in 2024, around 1.5% of the world's electricity, and the IEA expects that to more than double to about 945 TWh by 20302.
In the UK, the government designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024, the same status as energy and water systems3. It has since named several AI Growth Zones, sites meant to speed up AI data centre building through better access to power and planning support4.
A data centre is not the same as "the cloud". The cloud is a service you rent; the data centre is the physical building where that service runs.
Example
When you type a question into ChatGPT on your phone in Leeds, the answer is worked out on chips in a data centre, possibly in another country, and sent back over the internet.
Why it matters
Every AI answer you get uses electricity in a data centre somewhere. Where they are built, and how they are powered, now shapes energy policy and local planning decisions.
Questions people ask
How much electricity do data centres use?
About 415 TWh worldwide in 2024, roughly 1.5% of global electricity. The IEA expects this to more than double to around 945 TWh by 2030, with AI the biggest driver2.
Are data centres critical national infrastructure in the UK?
Yes. The UK government designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure in September 2024, putting them alongside energy and water systems3.
What is an AI Growth Zone?
A UK government scheme to unlock investment in AI data centres by improving access to power and offering planning support. Sites named so far include Oxfordshire, the North East, North Wales, South Wales and Lanarkshire4.
Related terms
Sources
- International Energy Agency (2025), Energy and AI: Energy demand from AI
- International Energy Agency (2025), Energy and AI: Executive summary
- UK Government (12 September 2024), Data centres to be given massive boost and protections from cyber criminals and IT blackouts
- UK Government, AI Growth Zones collection (latest entry 3 February 2026)