How energy is shaping the UK's AI Growth Zones

As artificial intelligence adoption accelerates, its physical infrastructure is scaling at an unprecedented rate. The computational power underpinning AI is delivered through large, energy-intensive data centres, and their siting is increasingly becoming a strategic national policy decision. The UK's designated AI Growth Zones represent a shift away from a London-centric tech model, anchoring AI development to clean energy supply and regional grid capacity.  These Growth Zones constitute the UK's first explicit framework to treat data centres as national energy assets rather than solely commercial infrastructure.