To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use heat recovery systems in artificial intelligence growth zones, such as Culham, to combine the cooling of data infrastructure with the heating of local homes and amenities.

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HL5665

Data CentresWaste Heat Recovery

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Question for Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

UIN HL5665, tabled on 11 March 2025

Question

Baroness Freeman of Steventon

Crossbench

Life peer

Lords

To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use heat recovery systems in artificial intelligence growth zones, such as Culham, to combine the cooling of data infrastructure with the heating of local homes and amenities.

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Answer

Lord Vallance of Balham

Labour

Life peer

Lords

Answered on

25 March 2025

Data centres produce significant heat, most of which is currently wasted into the environment. The technology exists to capture this heat and reuse it in district heating networks, or for heat intensive industries. We welcome the inclusion of heat recovery systems within applications for AI Growth Zones alongside other sustainable solutions.
We are engaging with developers and operators to determine whether further interventions are necessary and appropriate to encourage adoption of heat recovery. The Greater London Authority is currently developing a pilot to test heating up to 10,000 homes and at least one hospital from London-based data centres.

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Department for Science, Innovation and Technology