back to article Blackstone invests £10B to build Europe's 'biggest AI datacenter' in UK

US investment giant Blackstone is plowing £10 billion ($13.4 billion) into a massive AI datacenter project located in northeast England, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Wednesday. The facility, touted as the “biggest AI datacenter” in Europe, is slated for construction near Blyth, Northumberland, at the site …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I've legitimately lost track of how many of these AI datacenter pipedreams people have planned in the last year throughout the globe. I'm mostly just curious what these people are going to do with all the money when they inevitably don't build them (due to energy, logistics, geopolitical issues, sustainability and viability of AI, etc. you know the usual stuff they never mention)

    1. cyberdemon Silver badge
      Devil

      I think it'll be a similar case to the previous owner of the site: Trouser the bungs and run

    2. elsergiovolador Silver badge

      What do you mean what they'll do with the money?

      IT WILL TRICKLE DOWN!!!

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    A nice fat juicy target

    for the plebs who will get fed up with the constant power cuts while this (And all the other AI DC's) keep running.

    Cutting their power is going to be fair game in their eyes. These things suck up power that we don't have and can't generate. That means more imports of leccy which will drive up the prices for all of us.

    Barstewards.

    Is there no one in the current Government (who has not taken a bung or three) that has the brains to stop them before we revolt?

    1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

      Re: A nice fat juicy target

      I'll wait for people to come in and say that UK grid has capacity.

      After all such datacentre's energy consumption will amount to how many EVs?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: A nice fat juicy target

        Locally bits might, but its been a problem for some years that DC operators turn up, tell National Grid they want capacity, and NG "reserve" it on the system on a first come first served basis, and that then sterilises potential developments that need grid connections such as new housing.

        I doubt that's the case in Northumberland, but it's an established problem for some areas in and around London.

        With no proper, costed national strategy for affordable and reliable energy we really should not be letting anybody build DCs for "AI".

        1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

          Re: A nice fat juicy target

          Why singling out DCs?

          1. Michael Strorm Silver badge

            Re: A nice fat juicy target

            Because as far as I'm aware, the AI industry is pushing mainly for the construction of data centres rather than, say, skate parks or childrens' indoor soft play centres. (Which wouldn't be as power hungry nor as demanding on the local infrastructure if they did.)

  3. GenericLeftieWhackjob
    Mushroom

    Live in a box so the rich can learn to put glue on their pizza.

    What is the purpose of this beyond driving absurd electric demand that real people can't afford to turn the lights on?

    1. codejunky Silver badge

      Re: Live in a box so the rich can learn to put glue on their pizza.

      @GenericLeftieWhackjob

      "What is the purpose of this beyond driving absurd electric demand that real people can't afford to turn the lights on?"

      With or without this, the increased cost of energy is the intentional goal of our leaders. With or without a new data centre the gov is intentionally pushing everyone towards higher electricity use while not keeping up with generation.

      I do expect the purpose of this is for Starmer to point to something he has done in government.

  4. Andy 73 Silver badge

    Announced? Nothing to do with Starmer.

    Misleading title and quotes from Starmer. The deal was done by Northumberland County Council, with a little help from Sunak some time before the election.

    The receivers acting for BritishVolt did the actual announcing - in April this year - that they'd sold the site to Blackstone.

    1. MatthewSt Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Announced? Nothing to do with Starmer.

      A little help from Suank indeed! Without his intervention BritishVolt may have got somewhere and this site wouldn't be available...

  5. perkele

    Starmer trying to claim credit for it made before the election & the press just reprint the press release essentially.

    https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/blackstone-to-buy-former-britishvolt-site-for-qts-data-center-in-northumberland-uk/

    https://www.northumberland.gov.uk/News/2024/Apr/Deal-agreed-for-multi-billion-pound-AI-investment.aspx

    Nothing has changed other than legalise were finalised.

  6. IamStillIan

    How many jobs?

    " =expected to bring more than 4,000 jobs to the region, 1,200 of which will be related to the construction of the site."

    I don't get it. It's a lot fo work to build, so 1,200 I'll buy, but the other 2,800 seems like one of those magic numbers only economists can come up with it.

    Modern datacentres invest heavily in automation to minimise staffing levels. I don't care how big it is, it isn't going to directly employ more than a couple of hundred across all functions. So where are the other 2,600 coming in?

    Local cluster industry thinking doesn't work for things which mainly buy chips from the international market and sell services exclusively via network. And why would they need to upgrade local transport infrastructure?

    Don't suppose it matters, nothing'll ever get build on that site anyway.

    1. IGotOut Silver badge

      Re: How many jobs?

      came to post the same thing.

      The figures are complete and utter bullshit. They do this with every single money laundering, sorry, investment project

      Just look up " freeport fail to bring promised jobs" so see how many of these projects never deliver what the say.

    2. Michael Strorm Silver badge

      Re: How many jobs?

      You got there first. I was going to say that data centres are notorious for providing generally few jobs relative to their size and disruptive effect on infrastructure.

      In reality, they're really not that good for the areas they're located in.

      But they sound good and "hi-tech" in the press, even if- in reality- they only need to employ a guard and a dog.

      (The dog is paid in Winalot and- to rip off an old joke- is there to bite the guard if he attempts to touch any of the equipment).

    3. MatthewSt Silver badge

      Re: How many jobs?

      Microsoft reckon they have 50 "per building" (https://local.microsoft.com/blog/frequently-asked-questions-about-our-datacenters/#:~:text=How%20many%20people%20will%20work%20at%20the%20datacenter?) so I suppose if this site is comprised of 52 buildings then it could work...!

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