Developers working for Google have significantly misstated the carbon emissions of two proposed AI datacentres in Essex, according to planning documents reviewed by the Guardian. The errors, which understate emissions by a factor of five, were identified by the tech justice nonprofit Foxglove.
The projects include a 52-hectare datacentre in Thurrock and another at an airfield in North Weald. In both cases, developers compared one year of the datacentre's emissions with the UK's five-year carbon budget, making the impact appear five times smaller. A similar error was found in plans for Greystoke's Elsham Tech Park in north Lincolnshire.
Together, the three developments would account for more than 1% of the UK's carbon budget in 2033, equivalent to the emissions of a city like Bristol. Foxglove's Tim Squirrell said: 'Google has serious questions to answer about its dubious datacentre pollution figures.'
Local councillor Steven Heather noted that the North Weald datacentre has only outline planning permission, and the planning department will investigate the figures. Greystoke acknowledged the discrepancy, stating it expects to submit revised figures.
The misstatements add to concerns about AI's environmental footprint. Last month, the Guardian reported a tenfold difference in government estimates for datacentre energy use. Google did not respond to a request for comment, while Greystoke highlighted the project's economic benefits.
