Canterbury City Council has narrowly approved plans for an AI data centre that is intended to use methane from an adjacent landfill as its primary power source, in spite of concerns about its water usage.

The facility, being developed by Era4, is to be located near the Shelford Landfill in Broad Oak, Canterbury.

The company said the brownfield site, formerly a composting facility and now used for general storage, would allow the data centre to “connect to an on-site source of renewable energy” while representing an efficient use of land.

Water usage

The council approved the plans with four votes in favour, three abstentions and one against, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Councillor Ian Stockley had told a 21 July council meeting that the plans seemed “incredibly wasteful” of natural resources.

The facility is intended to use a closed-loop cooling system, but would require additional water in periods of increased outside temperatures.

Era4, which rebranded from Carbon3.AI in March, estimated the data centre would use 1,804 gallons of water per day.

Methane-based power

The 13,000 square foot data centre is intended to be located within a wider waste management site operated by Valencia Waste Management, drawing power from the neighbouring Valencia Energy Centre, which generates electricity using methane captured from the landfill.

This is intended as its primary power source, but it is expected to draw on the National Grid if additional power is required.

The landfill is expected to stop accepting waste in 2036, but methane generation can continue for years after the closure of a landfill.