My notes from the July 2026 ACT Energy Drinks gathering.

Next gathering will be at the Newton Abbot Taphouse on 3rd September 16:30 unless someone would like it elsewhere.
Thank you to all those who sent the following in.

• Data centres, North Devon proposal.
• NESO’s responds to our request for evidence.
• 2025 UK emission data published.
• UK electricity plans for the 2030s onwards.
• Register for Open Eco Homes.

1. The company behind the North Devon project is Xlinks. They say the company is all about building renewable capacity to support the growing need for electricity, e.g. Data Centres. Interestingly the proposed North Devon site does not appear to include renewable generation (other than a few solar carports in the artist’s impression), just a 1.8GW battery system to “deliver up to 1.8GW of AI-optimised compute capacity”. That figure is a bit vague as it suggests the maximum Power that the Data Centre draws. That is a lot given the total UK’s maximum electricity grid Power was ~ 46GW throughout 2025. It’s also significantly more than some of the largest Data Centres with a Power rating of ~0.1GW.
   
   They may have got the units wrong and meant to say 1.8GWh, probably over 1 year. This would make it a relatively small Data Centre compared to some that consume more electricity than the total UK consumption of ~300TWh p.a. (1TWh =1,000GWh). So it’s probably the correct unit of Power rather than annual energy. Therefore, a very significant addition to UK electricity consumption!
   
   Promising no new renewables on site or nearby, just a battery, suggests they’ll be buying low-cost (high Carbon?) electricity and cycling it through the battery, further increasing GHG emissions. See the Greenwash paper and the on-line regional forecaster.
   
   We discussed the general advantages of AI and associated Data Centres as well as their impact on electricity and water consumption. We also touched on the impact of AI on human behaviour/cognition. In essence we felt there was a lot of ‘unnecessary’ use of the technology, some of which we touched on in previous sessions. Putting planning constraints on Data Centres to generate the majority, if not all, their energy demand from new local sources seemed a good starting point. Similarly, a requirement to have a closed-loop water cooling system, would be necessary especially where such water volumes were not readily available (e.g. by the sea).
2. DFS carbon saving claims were covered at our last session. We had to submit an Environmental Information Regulations Request to get a sensible reply detailing the evidence used for their assertion on the Demand Side Flexibility service. Eventually they did e-mail back with a link to a report which contained 1/2page ‘evidence’ for the claim in a 21 page report on the financial and network constraint benefits (see page 19).
   
   I had to write back to clarify the question and the rather vague evidence provided. I received a phone call within the hour from a helpful person at NESO. Surprisingly, he was not aware of the Regional Carbon Intensity his organisation has been publishing for over two years. Understandably he was not able to take responsibility for how their customers (the utilities) market the product.
   
   Regrettably, I was not able to persuade him to put a cavate next to their claim the DFS service reduces ghg emissions. I had to accept that given the methodology used of only measuring aggregated transmission network impacts, they did not need to highlight that not every region would see a reduction in ghg emissions as this was something their customers should do. Although they did have the regional distribution of MPANs, this information could not be shared.
   
   Hopefully the exchange makes those at NESO look into how they run this service and make appropriate adjustments for regional variations.
3. Government published UK ghg emissions for 2025 highlights. A useful overview (see the bar chart) of reductions and some increases since 1990. Also, the sector breakdown of these emissions. You can draw your own conclusions on how good these reported figures are and how they compare to what the Paris Agreement target is to avoid a climate tipping point.  
4. See the GB electricity future report from NESO. This describes how the network is expected to grow after the mid 2030s. Between now and then the electricity network demand (consumption) is expected to grow by 30%. This sounds like a modest increase given the policy to decarbonise transport and heating may eventually result in a 4-fold increase in demand. It is true electricity demand has flatlined for the past 5 years despite the uptake of heat pumps and electric vehicles, albeit at a modest rate. This increase in demand has been offset by greater efficiencies and de-industrialisation. It’s not clear though why this trend would continue at the same rate to justify the low ambition in NESO’s plans.
   
   Maybe there is a secret plan to help household and business reduce up to 40% of their electricity consumption!
5. Last reminder if you, or someone you know, has built an eco-house or made their home more sustainable and might like to open it to the public for a few hours one weekend this autumn.
   
   Register your interest by filling in this short form: 
   Open Eco Homes Devon – Homeowner Expression of Interest Form
   Events are taking place throughout Devon.
   
   Open Eco Homes events give people the chance to visit real homes that have made energy-saving or ecological improvements – from insulation and retrofit projects to heat pumps, solar panels, natural building, rainwater harvesting, wildlife-friendly gardens and more. Visitors really value the chance to ask honest questions and hear directly from people who have actually gone through the process themselves.
   
   You absolutely do not need a “perfect” eco-home. People are often most inspired by practical homes similar to their own, including partial retrofits, ongoing projects and simple low-cost improvements.
   
   The event weekends across Devon will run between 12 September and 11 October 2026, and we’ll work with hosts to find timings that suit them.