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The data centre operator says that development of the Cardiff site will create 1,000 local construction jobs.
Responding to the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, Latos Data Centres has announced plans to open 40 new data centres across the UK by 2030.
In an announcement today (27 November), the UK-based data centre operator said that it has already secured planning permission for its first hyperscale complex near Cardiff and has further sites in development in the country.
According to the company, the 50,400 sq m tier three Cardiff data centre will deliver a total of 90MVA coming from a 100pc renewable energy supply from the UK national grid and supported with a backup feed from the 1,000MW Tremorfa Energy Park – one of the world’s largest battery energy storage facilities.
A tier three data centre has multiple paths for power and cooling and has systems in place to update and maintain the centre without taking it offline. Tier three data centres only expect 1.6 hours of downtime annually – a massive upgrade from tier two systems that expect up to 22 hours of downtime every year.
Development work on the Cardiff site is expected to start immediately, the company said, which will lead to the creation of 1,000 local construction jobs. Once the site is open, the centre is expected to create 200 jobs along with up to 300 roles in the local supply chain.
According to Latos, its “next generation” data centre strategy “combines a focus on low-latency, high-performance computing with flexible modular designs, energy efficiency and the tightest security standards” which will support “sophisticated AI use cases like autonomous vehicles and smart manufacturing”.
According to an analysis by strategy and management firm McKinsey, demand for AI-ready data centre capacity is expected to rise at an average rate of 33pc a year between 2023 and 2030.
Meanwhile, a survey of 176 senior executives by global law firm DLA Piper found that 70pc of data centre investors and operators are predicting increased investment in data centres in the next two years. Although 98pc of respondents said that they are concerned about energy supply.
Moreover, almost all respondents foresee AI driving demand for data centres, primarily through machine learning and natural language processing.
The global data centre market is expected to be valued at around $300bn in 2024, according to an analysis from TMT Finance – which carried out the research for DLA Piper – which said that the market is expected to be valued at more than $480bn by 2029.
Mike Carlin, Latos’ founder said: “The growth of AI means the UK’s data centre map needs to change. Organisations will need more computing power closer to where it is needed, and the ability to specify the exact facilities they need.”
However, data centres are a large consumer of energy. In 2023, data centres in Ireland consumed as much as 21pc of the country’s energy supply – a number projected to increase up to 30pc by 2030.
Recently, Amazon Web Services entered into a strategic collaboration with Bord na Móna to develop data centres in Ireland’s midlands, powered by renewable energy, while the South Dublin County Council refused Google’s plans to expand its data centre infrastructure in Grange Castle Business Park citing grid issues and the lack of on-site renewable energy.
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