Creating best practice data centres

It seems like data centres are popping up everywhere across the UK, and we should prepare ourselves for more – 100 new data centres are already planned for development across the country. Their rate of development is accelerating to meet our ever growing use of AI. These massive sites house the hardware and servers needed to run platforms like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.

What are Data Centres

Data Centres are large compounds that house computer systems, networking gear and servers for handling digital storage and information, as well as the complex and demanding cooling and power systems needed for their operation.

Hyperscale facilities can often exceed 10,000 square metres and house thousands of servers, the recently approved RAF Elsham Wolds campus is a former airfield and measures 176 hectares.

The pushback

It’s not just their scale that is causing public concern, it seems Data Centre development has become increasingly controversial, some of the issues most pressing to local residents include:

Massive energy consumption – Hyperscale AI data centres run 24/7 and can consume over 300MW of power, roughly the equivalent of 300, 000 homes. It’s expected by 2030 that data centres will account for up to 10% of national electricity use – in a time where there is so much pressure to reduce energy consumption in the name of climate change, it can seem hypocritical that our government has designated data centres as Critical National Infrastructure.

Local pollution – Data centres don’t run purely on electricity – during power outages they rely on large diesel generators to keep servers in operation. These diesel generators release nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter in the local area, in fact local air quality can even worsen during periodic generator testing.

Heavy water usage – To cool thousands of servers, large data centres can require up to 19,000,000 litres of water per day – a similar volume to a small town.

Rising utilities costs for nearby communities – To keep up with the demand needed to power data centres, local grid infrastructure often needs to be upgraded – new substations, transformers, and cabling – energy companies then pass these upgrade costs on to residents’ bills This has become prevalent enough that Ofgem, the UK energy regulator has proposed new rules to combat this.

Loss of green belt – People can feel a loss of green space across the country, it only takes a trip to the beach to see new housing estates in areas you remember as wide open fields. National greenbelt has shrunk for the past 2 years and data centres have become the latest cause.

Noise pollution – Data centres are surprisingly noisy, their cooling fans alone often reach 75–90 dB(A) at close range, comparable to heavy traffic. As data centres operate 24 hours a day, constant white noise can affect local residents, even a few hundred metres away these noise levels can easily sit above the World Health Organisation’s daytime threshold and well above its night-time limit of 30 dB(A).

Light pollution – All night security lighting can disrupt the natural circadian rhythms of residents and nearby wildlife. White light can disrupt sleep wake cycles and melatonin production, which researchers link to long-term health effects, researchers have also demonstrated light pollution causing decline in insect, mammal and bird populations.

So what can be done?

Despite local community pushback they’re here to stay – and we should prepare ourselves for more.

In fact, the government has designated them as Critical National Infrastructure – giving them the same status as energy and water systems, their continued development has become national policy, whether we like it or not.

However, the construction of new data centres across the country can provide an opportunity. If data centre’s are inevitable, then it’s important that developers design them well, with the wellbeing of local residents and the environment at the core of their design philosophy.

Best practice data centre design can include a range of different technologies and philosophies to help mitigate potential harms and even add value to nearby communities.

Best practice data centre design

Pre-application engagement

Developers should engage local planning authorities, communities and environmental bodies before finalising the design. Early engagement can identify sensitivities and help understand the needs and concerns of the local community – allowing these to influence the design rather than treating them as an afterthought at the end of the process.

Consider:

Existing biodiversity – identify sensitive habitats before locking in designs

Proximity to residential areas – understand who the development will affect and to what scale

Water stress – assess local supply constraints before committing to a cooling strategy

Energy use and renewable potential – assess what the site and grid can realistically support

Landscape and green buffers

Developers should think of the landscape as infrastructure. Green infrastructure can provide visual screening, noise attenuation, shade, emission mitigation and carbon storage:

Woodlands and tree belts – screening, shade and habitat

Hedgerows – retain landscape character and connect habitats

Ecological corridors – connect habitats together to increase biodiversity and species resilience

Wildflowers and grassland – support pollinators and biodiversity

Acoustic landscaping – planting and earth bunds to reduce noise

Softened security fencing – balance security with landscape and ecology

Solar landscaping – combine solar panels with species rich grassland, wildflowers and shrubs

Green roofs – large roof areas can sustain vegetation for habitats, cooling and water retention.

Water and drainage

Developers shouldn’t design drainage, rainwater harvesting and cooling systems independently – instead they can work together, allowing water to pass through SuDS and permeable paving, into rainwater harvesting and attenuation systems, before finally serving cooling and non potable water needs.

Data centres should seek to use:

Water free cooling – for minimised water consumption

Immersion cooling – reduce cooling water requirements

Closed loop cooling – recirculate water rather than continually consuming it

Rainwater harvesting and water reuse – reduce potable water demand

SuDs and rain gardens – manage runoff while supporting biodiversity

Permeable surfaces – increased infiltration and reduce surface runoff

Attenuation – manage peak flows and flood risk.

Biodiversity

In England, biodiversity net gain (BNG) requires developments to deliver a 10% increase in biodiversity compared to the pre-developed site. This is measured using a statutory metric and developers follow a hierarchy that prioritises reduced harm to extant biodiversity, before seeking gains. Developers must maintain these gains for a minimum of 30 years.

Developers should factor BNG into the initial planning process rather than calculating it after the build is complete.

Noise and light

Noise and light pollution is one of the biggest concerns shared by local residents to data centres, poorly managed lighting and insufficient acoustic insulation can lead to data centres becoming a serious nuisance to peoples daily lives.

Developers should treat this as a top priority for proposed developments, addressing it at the planning and masterplanning stage rather than solving it once the project nears completion.

Consider:

Location – place noisy equipment away from sensitive receptors

Equipment selection – specify quiet cooling and mechanical systesm

Acoustic barriers – contain and attenuate operational noise

Earth bunds – provide additional acoustic screening

Landscaped buffers – soften boundaries and reduce visual impact

Directional lighting – limit light spill and glare

Shielding – contain illumination to required areas

Timers and controls – reduce lighting when its not required

Regular monitoring – verify noise and lighting levels after completion

Energy and emissions

The important things to consider with energy are

Use less energy

PUE – minimise overhead energy use

Efficient cooling – reduce electricity demands

Generate cleaner energy

On site solar – generate renewable electricity

Renewable procurement – reduce carbon intensity of energy use

Battery storage – store renewable energy and reduce grid strain

Manage demand

Peak demand management – reduce pressure during peak times

Grid interaction – coordinate demand with grad capacity

Flexibility agreements – reduce demand when the grid is strained

Backup generation

Backup generators keep servers running during power outages – the environmental implications of generators should be considered at a planning level, as part of the initial design.

Consider:

Low emission generators – reduce local air pollution

Exhaust stack positioning – improve dispersion and protect neighbours

Dispersion modelling – assessment and the location of sensitive areas should determine exhaust stack height and location

Cumulative assessment -consider emissions alongside other local sources

Heat recovery

Data centres create heat that can become a local resource, reused to warm nearby buildings. Heat recovery works best when developers consider it during site selection. Proximity is critical, its much easier to make use of the produced heat when the infrastructure a data centre is connected to is nearby.

Potential applications include:

Homes

Schools

Offices

Hospitals

Greenhouses

Accountability after planning

Planning permission should not be the end of developer engagement with the surrounding area. Where developers make commitments, monitoring mechanisms should track whether they’re met once the data centre comes into use.

With proper review processes data centres can function and serve the communities they neighbour, rather than becoming unaccountable faceless intrusions.

Developers should undertake annual reviews, covering:

Energy – electricity consumption, peak demand, PUE, renewable energy

Carbon – operational carbon emissions and generator emissions

Water – potable and total water consumption, rainwater capture, reuse and WUE

Environment – noise, lighting and air quality

Biodiversity – habitat conditions, BNG outcomes and species survival

What best practice design can (and can’t) fix

The easy fixes

Noise – bunds, acoustic barriers and smart equipment specification can effectively manage noise.

Light pollution – directional lighting, shielding and timers can limit light spill and minimise disruption outside the site.

Water strain – closed loop, immersion cooling and rainwater harvesting can heavily reduce water demands – especially in rain rich countries like the UK.

Local biodiversity loss – BNG and habitat creation can be a net positive to local wildlife.

Partially softened

Rising bills – demand flexibility and battery storage can reduce how much strain a site puts on the grid, but it doesn’t get rid of new infrastructure costs passed on to local residents.

Energy consumption – solar and renewable procurement can make electricity cleaner but it doesn’t erase demand.

Unresolved by design

Loss of greenbelt – landscaping mitigates the look and ecological impact of this loss, but it doesn’t change the material reality.

CNI and policy contradiction – Making data centres Critical National Infrastructure in a time of climate change, while simultaneously striving for nationwide decarbonisation is difficult to reconcile.

Examples of well designed and integrated centres

QTS Cambois Data Centre Campus, Northumberland

A redeveloped former coal yard shows that developers are already taking this on board – including ecological design and biodiversity at the projects core.

The Cambois site is home to an open mosaic habitat. Open mosaid habitat features bare ground and a mosaic of flower meadows, grassland, scrub and wet areas. Open mosaic habitat is actually a valuable habitat associated with brownfield sites as it creates a range of niche habitats.

QTS plans to include open mosaic habitat on the site rather than simply compensating for habitat loss. The development includes 19 hectares of open mosaic habitat, 18 hectares of grassland and more than 3 hectares of ponds.

Despite efforts to conserve and promote biodiversity on the site, some habitat loss was inevitable. To address the biodiversity loss associated with the development, QTS and Northumberland County Council sought to create a mosaic habitat of approximately 270 hectares at Potland Burn, a former mining site. As part of the Southeast Northumberland Habitat Network it sits at the end of a chain of wildlife sites that extend towards Druridge Bay, strengthening a wider ecological network.

QTS has committed to funding both the habitat creation at Potland Burn as well as 30 years of habitat management. This commitment shows how data centre construction has the potential to benefit surroundings beyond the confines of the centre itself.

Microsoft Middenmeer

This is a good example of one of Microsofts rainwater capture projects.

The project uses direct evaporative cooling with outside air used for cooling for approximately 95% of the year. During warmer seasons, the site uses captured rainwater as an alternative source for cooling and humidification.

Air cooling and captured rainwater can dramatically reduce water usage, and reduce strain on water infrastructure.

The centre captures rainwater from roofs and transports it to the Agriport waterbank, where it’s stored underground before cooling servers and hardware.

The datacentre’s grey roof area works as part of a larger water management system, rather than treating rainwater as runoff to be discharged.

Microsoft also took an interesting approach to landscape design, working with local landscape architects to mimic the area’s natural ecology and prioritise native habitats and biodiversity

The redeveloped landscape includes over 150 native trees as well as over 2000m2 of shrubs and grasses. These not only improve biodiversity, but also stormwater control, reduce erosion and aid landscape integration.

Microsoft Netherlands has also announced plans for additional lowland forests and forested wetlands on the site.

Colt London 4

West London Colt London 4 is a proposed hyperscale campus, designed to use 100% renewable energy with aims of achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating.

The design proposal includes plans for a green roof that will be home to a wide variety of plant species.

This functions to increase biodiversity on the site and create habitats while mitigating the urban heat island effect and improving local air quality.

One of the planning drawings specifically labels a green roof on one of the fuel tank buildings.

The edge of the site intends to incorporate green walls into the build, providing similar benefits to the green roofs while reducing the visual and acoustic impact of the data centre.

The existing brook corridor runs through the site, the plan proposes selective management of the corridor to improve biodiversity, including:

Removal of invasive species like Japanese knotweed and giant hogweed.

Opening up the corridor by clearing space for new growth.

Replanting areas with native shrubs, marginal plants and wildflowers.

Elsewhere on the site, plans include use of permeable paving and below ground attenuation to reduce flood risk and aid resilience to rainfall. Rainwater harvesting is also proposed to support irrigation and reduce water use.

Closing thoughts

Best practice

The question for planners and local authorities has shifted. It’s no longer whether we build data centres, but how we design them, where we locate them, and how they integrate into the areas where they operate

Their status as Critical National Infrastructure underscores their priority with Government economic policy. As a result it becomes even more important that environmental and community considerations are addressed as priority, rather than as inconvenient after thoughts.

Examples like Cambois, Middenmeer and London 4 show that developers can design data centres in ways that limit harm and can even benefit their surroundings. Developers can create habitats, use rainwater to serve local water systems, and build green infrastructure into their designs.

Compensation

Despite this, some of the most egregious aspects of data centre construction can’t just be fixed by better design. No amount of green infrastructure or biodiversity is going to make up for double standards at a governmental level and loss of green belt.

As community pushback increases, some kind of community compensation is likely, either in the form of reduced bills or public land creation. New developments already hint at this:

Abbots Langley – a proposed development in Herefordshire promises to deliver a nature reserve, £12m towards local skills and training, as well as £105,000 to sustainable transport.

DataVita in North Lanarkshire is similarly pledging £543 million to support local projects, fund skills and training in the community as well as to support local charities and food banks.

Voluntary “community benefit” schemes already exist for similar large developments. Highland Council encourages renewable energy developers to contribute £5,000 per installed megawatt annually into community trust funds. This model is inconsistent at best, but it does set a precedent – large scale developments with long term impact, giving back to local communities even without a legal requirement.

The industry is recognising and accepting that it can’t fully offset the impact data centres on local communities – but what does fair compensation look like, and who should be responsible for delivering it? Watch this space.