Emissions claims need to stack up: data centre energy under the microscope

In May, the Guardian reported that developers working on three major UK data centre projects – two for Google in Essex, and Greystoke’s Elsham Tech Park in Lincolnshire – had understated projected emissions by a factor of five in planning documents. Annual emissions had been compared against the UK’s entire five-year carbon budget, a calculation that, according to analysis by the nonprofit Foxglove, masked the true scale of the projects’ carbon emissions.

This latest story is another example of how the data centre sector – and the carbon accounting underpinning it – has entered a new phase of public, regulatory and investor scrutiny. It serves as a timely reminder that our numbers and methodology will be checked not just by regulators, but by journalists, and by public interest and environmental groups. In short, the figures must stack up.

Public resistance to data centre developments is also becoming more organised and more political. Across the world, communities are increasingly challenging projects over concerns relating to land use, water consumption, visual impact, electricity demand and emissions. At the same time, society’s dependence on digital infrastructure continues to accelerate. AI adoption, cloud computing, streaming, e-commerce and connected services are all driving unprecedented demand for data processing and storage. 

This creates a growing cognitive dissonance: while businesses and consumers are using ever more digital services, there is rising discomfort with the physical and environmental footprint required to support them. In that environment, claims around “green” power, carbon neutrality or sustainability are no longer accepted at face value. Operators increasingly need to demonstrate not only that sufficient energy exists, but that it is genuinely additional, auditable and aligned with long-term climate goals.

For data centre operators, that places new emphasis on the need for credible and deliverable emissions claims. And this comes at a time when globally, many data centres are stalled or delayed, and seeking alternative power sources as they navigate around capacity-constrained electricity grids.

Collections of power generation assets fuelled by fossil fuels are increasingly contributing baseload power, but they sit awkwardly against operators’ own net-zero commitments, customer requirements, and the disclosure expectations that – while narrowed by the EU’s Omnibus I revisions to the CSRD – still bear down on the largest hyperscalers and their financiers.

Data centre operators need immediate power solutions that withstand scrutiny. Four conditions matter:

• Additionality – the new supply must exist because of the offtake, not regardless of it.

• Traceability – origin of that energy must be evidenced and audited from source through to point of use.

• Lifecycle accounting – robust, independently-verified emissions data must underpin Scope 1, 2 and 3 reporting.

• Permanence – where carbon removals are used, they must be physically permanent and accounted for separately from gross emissions.

Across all four, weak or unverifiable evidence creates a clear greenwashing risk.

The case for unsubsidised biomethane

Despite all these challenges, a solution exists today. Biomethane – especially when produced without government subsidy – is a direct, low-carbon substitute for fossil gas. It can be dropped-in without modification in gas engines, turbines, combined heat and power (CHP) plants or fuel cells, thus providing stable, dispatchable behind-the-meter (BtM) power. Compatible with proven on-site generation assets, biomethane can match data centre load profiles, while providing uptime and resilience to match customer requirements.

Biomethane: additional, sustainable – and proven

Biomethane is produced through anaerobic digestion (AD), a process where bacteria break down organic material to produce biogas, a mix of predominantly methane and carbon dioxide gases. This mix is then “upgraded”, resulting in pure (bio)methane that is molecularly identical to natural gas. In BECCS plants (BioEnergy with Carbon Capture and Storage) the biogenic CO2 is captured, and either utilised industrially (e.g. food and beverage production) or stored in geological reservoirs. When the CO2 is permanently stored, the carbon-negative step results in high-integrity greenhouse gas removals (GGRs) which can be traded to fund further sustainability initiatives.

AD plants also produce digestate, a nutrient-rich biofertiliser that is returned to farms in a circular system replacing nutrients in the soil. Studies show that bioenergy feedstock crops grown within rotational and sequential systems can improve soil health and water holding capacity, enhance nutrient cycling, build organic matter and increase crop yields. Moreover, they reduce farmers’ reliance on energy-intensive fossil-based fertilisers, which are increasingly mined or manufactured overseas, and subject to significant price volatility.

Biomethane is proven; it’s a commercial reality. Future Biogas already operates 11 AD plants across the UK, including the country’s first unsubsidised biomethane facility, Moor Bioenergy; the result of a pioneering partnership with AstraZeneca.

Produced from a newbuild plant without subsidy, every megawatt hour of biomethane is fully additional: traceable, accountable, and existing solely because of offtakers’ contracts with the producer. It is easily distributed through existing gas infrastructure, with new gas connections typically available in much shorter timeframes than electricity ones. Gas networks are also highly reliable, achieving 99.9% - 100% availability across interconnected grids in the UK, Ireland, and the rest of Europe . The existing UK gas network effectively operates as the country’s largest battery, capable of storing over 650 GWh of energy per day or 100 TWh per year .

Future Biogas’ biomethane is fully traceable from field to flame under International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) standards and supported by independently audited lifecycle data demonstrating a carbon footprint comparable to wind and solar. Where biogenic carbon is captured and permanently stored, the process can deliver carbon-negative energy – making biogas unique among fuel sources in its ability not only to reduce emissions, but to actively remove carbon from the atmosphere.

For operators preparing planning submissions, customer disclosures or investor materials, that evidence chain is the difference between withstanding scrutiny, or becoming another headline.

A low-risk, bankable energy structure

Beyond the emissions story, biomethane offers data centre operators a commercial structure that the current market rewards. Unlike short-term offset purchases or private power agreements (PPAs), biomethane sourced through partnerships is priced through long-term gas purchase agreements (GPAs), avoiding wholesale volatility. When onsite generation is provided through an energy-as-a-service contract, operators can achieve significant CAPEX savings, bypassing large upfront grid reinforcement fees and ongoing network supply fees.

A planned 40 MWe data campus facing an uncertain multi-year grid connection can phase delivery across multiple 10 MWe BtM blocks, allowing initial halls to go live while the grid catches up. As demand ramps, further anaerobic digestion modules can be commissioned, then rebalanced against electricity import as grid capacity finally arrives. The 18-24 month timeframe for completing both a new biomethane plant and onsite generation assets sits comfortably inside a typical data centre build programme.

Unsubsidised biomethane also offers policy resilience, with no risk to the business model from subsidy-linked reclassification. Operators can also enrol biomethane generation assets in grid-balancing services such as the UK or Irish Capacity Markets, accessing additional revenue streams that offset a proportion of OPEX costs.

A future-proof, renewable power source – available now

As data centre demand and AI workloads draw more political and regulatory attention, the bar for what counts as a defensible energy strategy is rising. Considered against increased focus on emissions claims – and increasing risks from them being wrong – biomethane emerges as an ideal solution. Available on shorter timelines than large grid connections, yet offering the stability of long-term contracts and proven technology pathways, it’s a fully auditable route to additional green energy that withstands the most intense scrutiny.

Progress is inherently disruptive. But if data centres are going to create vast new demand for energy, they must also help bring forward vast new supplies of green energy. Because both the climate – and public acceptance – have a breaking point and we’re tiptoeing closer to both.