On 3 September, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Scottish Parliament. They were protesting against the country’s planned data centre builds, including one that would be the second-largest facility in the world.

In Scotland and beyond, there’s a perception that data centres always bring negative consequences for the people living nearby. Concerns include facilities draining energy and water resources, taking over green space, or destroying local habitats. These concerns are valid when it comes to legacy hyperscale data centres. However, it’s not universally true that data centres are terrible neighbours. Modular, AI-ready data centres that donate decarbonised heat to communities bring positive outcomes for locals, without damaging green space or draining resources.

Here’s why we need AI-ready data centres, how to tell if a data centre will make a great neighbour, and thoughts from the Deep Green team on why they’d love to live near a data centre. 

Getting rid of data centres altogether isn’t the answer

Let’s back up a minute. Where’s the anger at data centres coming from?

In the last three years since AI hit the mainstream, the technology has drastically reshaped how we live and work. Many people’s jobs have been impacted (even as many new jobs have been created), and many more fear their roles will be replaced by AI.

AI is intangible: we can’t see it beyond our computer screens, so it’s hard to know where to direct our fear and frustration. Yet many people see data centres as a physical manifestation of AI, and believe data centres are solely responsible for the negative impacts of AI on society.

However, what not everyone understands is that data centres were already a fundamental part of our lives long before ChatGPT came along. Beyond powering AI models, we use data centres for every digital file we save, every film we stream, every email we send, and every website we load.

It’s not just our personal lives; countless industries also need data centres to store and process data such as NHS records, banking information, or pharmaceutical research.

There’s no two ways about it. If we want to continue our digital lives, we need data centres. It’s up to us which kind of data centres we build. 

Different types of data centres: The SLTO test

Protesters are right to demand information on how proposed data centres will impact their local area. The question facilities must answer is: Have you earned your social license to operate (SLTO)? This means: has a data centre considered what they give back to the community? Have they thought about how they’ll impact the environment? Have they understood that, instead of just setting up shop, they should earn their right to be part of the local area?

A data centre shouldn’t just arrive in a community, drain resources, and give nothing back. They should consider how they will fit within the community infrastructure, so local people can feel the benefit of having a data centre as a neighbour.

How data centres can give back to the community

Donate decarbonised heat

Data centre servers get extremely hot; most facilities simply throw that heat away. However, by capturing and redistributing that heat to the community via district heating networks, AI-ready data centres can earn their social license to operate.

For example, our Urmston facility donates decarbonised heat to Trafford Leisure, who use it to heat the swimming pool in move Urmston Leisure Centre. This reduces their yearly CO2 emissions by 100-150 tonnes, and saves Trafford Leisure £80,000 a year in heating costs. In a time when several local leisure centres are forced to close because of lack of funds, these savings are essential to keep this vital community service open for locals.

Run community programmes

Beyond donating heat, data centres can also give back to local people through community programmes. Our Swim Hours programme in Urmston funds swimming lessons for Muslim women, helping them learn this life-saving skill. Meanwhile, our tree planting programme involves locals in planting trees in Greater Manchester, helping them build new skills, improve their wellbeing, and connect to nature in their area.

Minimise water usage 

With the UK hit by droughts this summer, there’s a fear that AI-ready data centres will drain our water resources. In some cases, this is a valid concern, and we should always ask proposed data centre builds about their planned water usage.

However, it’s entirely possible to run a data centre without draining local water supplies. Data centres with closed-loop cooling (like our Urmston facility) only need to fill their cooling system once, then they use close to zero water. Adiabatic cooling (like our proposed Bradford facility) adapts its cooling techniques based on the outdoor temperature, and uses less water than a domestic house per year.

Create local jobs and drive investment

We hear a lot about AI taking jobs. We hear less about how data centre builds can attract local tech investment. Technology companies often need low latency to run inference workloads, which means they must locate their HQ near the data centre where they process those workloads. Having an AI-ready data centre as a neighbour can attract those tech companies, boost local tech employment, and establish your area as a tech hub.

Would you like to live near a data centre? Thoughts from the Deep Green team

We asked the Deep Green team if they would like to live near a data centre. The answer was a resounding “Yes”. Here’s why:

Mark Bjornsgaard, Founder: "My house will be more likely to be heated for free, my local swimming pool is more likely to stay open, and my kids are more likely to find a job (in the industry using the free heat)."

Sacha Laverty, B2B Marketing Manager: "This would provide several great opportunities to my local area. Creating more jobs, supporting local businesses, and using the excess heat from the data centre to supply heat to homes, offices, leisure facilities, or district heat networks (to name a few)."

Matt Bagwell, CMO: “If there are tangible benefits in my local community—like direct and indirect employment—and the operator contributes time, money and effort to local projects they care about, then I’d be delighted to see a data centre with heat reuse fill the abandoned industrial units smattered across our local area. Of course, successful integration is dependent on joined-up thinking across communities, council organisations, and companies that takes evidence, understanding, and commitment.”

Phoebe Price, Marketing and Sales Associate: “It completely flips the script on everything we think we know about data centres. My local facility would be using excess heat to warm up community spaces. It also means I’d have a neighbour that gives back to my local area through green projects such as tree planting and community schemes.”

Want to see a blueprint of how an AI-ready data centre can make a great neighbour? Check out our Urmston facility.