Aggreko: Could Decentralised Energy Power AI?
Source: Charlie King | · ENERGY DIGITAL· | August 26, 2025
Aggreko & Digital Realty say decentralised energy could help UK data centres overcome grid delays and meet the rising power demands of AI
The global competition in artificial intelligence is facing a power dilemma rather than technological limitations. As AI advances, the infrastructure supporting these innovations faces pressure to adapt alongside soaring demands for electricity.
In the digital economy, data centres serve as vital components. Their need to expand is not limited to computation and storage; energy demands have surged to keep them operational. This new reality presents considerable challenges across the industry.
Is energy the new tech bottleneck?
The demands of AI workloads are unlike those from traditional cloud or enterprise applications. They require high levels of power for model training and inference, with energy consumption often far surpassing that of typical IT environments.
In Europe, and particularly in the UK, the ability to secure grid connections quickly is proving problematic. Key figures in the industry suggest that without addressing these issues, substantial investments in AI and digital infrastructure could bypass the region altogether.
Digital Realty, a global leader in data centre development, is lobbying for a systemic overhaul of the UK's energy grid and accompanying planning processes.
Aggreko, a major player in decentralised power solutions, echoes this sentiment in its Bridging the Energy Gap for European Data Centres whitepaper. The risk of falling behind in AI infrastructure looms large without stable power solutions.
“Our conversations with data centre owners and operators show Digital Realty’s concerns are echoed throughout the sector,” says Billy Durie, Global Sector Head for Data Centres at Aggreko.
“As with a great many other places, AI is set to have a transformative impact on the data centre industry. But if it is to do so, reliable power sources are key.”