The Anonymous Widower

Google Starts Building £790m Site In Hertfordshire

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.

This is the sub-heading.

Google has invested $1bn (£790m) to build its first UK data centre

These are the first four paragraphs.

The tech giant said construction had started at a 33-acre site in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, and hoped it would be completed by 2025.

Google stressed it was too early to say how many jobs would be created but it would need engineers, project managers, data centre technicians, electricians, catering and security personnel.

The prime minister said it showed the UK had “huge potential for growth”.

The project marked the latest investment by a major US tech firm in Britain, after Microsoft announced it would invest £2.5bn to expand data centres for artificial intelligence (AI) across the UK.

Note.

1. By “completed by 2025” do they mean completed before 2025 or completed by the end of 2025. Judging by the time they took to build their London HQ, its the latter.
2. Rishi is right about the UK having a huge potential for growth! Especially, if the nihilists of the United States vote in the Big Orange!
3. Judging by the total spend of £2.5 billion on data centres and the £790 million for this one, this looks to be the first of three.

But where is this data centre going to be built?

This article on EssexLive is entitled Google To Move Into Waltham Cross With £788m Data Centre To Support ‘AI Innovation’, where this is said.

The new data centre will go on land at Maxwell’s Farm, next to the A10 Great Cambridge Road and around one mile from the M25 junction 25. Debbie Weinstein, Google vice president and managing director in the UK and Ireland, set out the decision in a blog post on Thursday, January 18 – the fourth day of the World Economic Forum’s Davos 2024 in Switzerland.

This is a Goggle Map of that area, when I searched for Maxwell’s Farm.

Note.

1. The red arrow indicates the result of my search, which Google interpreted as A.J. Maxwell.
2. The dual-carriageway road running down the East side of the map is the A10 between London and Cambridge.
3. The A10 road joins the M25 at Junction 25.
4. The arrow to the South-West of the roundabout indicates the new studios; Sunset Waltham Cross, which is being built.
5. At the other side of the studio site, there is a label saying New River and this important piece of London’s water infrastructure can be traced to the top of the map.
6. The other dual-carriageway road is the B198 or Lieutenant Ellis Way.
7. A quick calculation shows that 33 acres is roughly a 365 metre square.

I would suspect that the data centre will lie somewhere between the A10, the B198 and the New River.

This Google Map shows the South-East corner of the site.

Note.

1. There appears to be a lane running East-West, that crosses over both the A10 and the New River.
2. Theobalds Lane appears to have some housing and possibly a farm.
3. The smaller field by the roundabout appears to have some animals using it as grazing.
4. The field between the East-West lane and Theobalds Lane appears to have a good crop of cereal.

The East-West lane would appear to be a possible Southern border of the site.

This Google Map shows where the East-West lane goes.

Note.

1. The lane leads to Queen Mary’s High School.
2. The school also has access from Lieutenant Ellis Way.
3. The New River appears to form, the Eastern boundary of the school site.
4. There are sports pitches between the New River and the school.

The New River looks to be the Western boundary of the Google site.

This Google Map shows around the red arrow from the Google search that led me to this area.

Note.

1. A.J. Maxwell is identified by the red arrow in the Theobalds Enterprise Centre.
2. The New River can be seen at the West of the map.
3. A hedge runs roughly East-West to the North of the Enterprise Centre.
4. North of the hedge are a number of football pitches, which appear to belong to the Affinity Academy at Goffs Churchgate.

The hedge could be the Northern boundary of the Google site.

This Google Map shows the area between the South of the Enterprise Centre and the East-West lane I picked out earlier.

A crude measurement indicates it could be around 33 acres or slightly more.

This picture is used in nearly all the news reports about the Data Centre.

Note.

1. Could that be the gentle curve of the New River on the left?
2. With the high fence, the New River forms an almost-mediaeval defence against trespassers.
3. There looks to be a dual-carriageway road running down the other side of the site, which would be the A10.
4. Between the A10 and the site, there appears to be loots of dark areas, which I take to be car parks.
5. Are the car-parking spaces in the front of the picture marked for those, who are disabled? There certainly appear to be chargers on some spaces.

I have a few thoughts.

The Relative Locations Of Google’s Data Centre And Sunset Studios?

This Google Map shows the two sites to the West of the A10.

Note.

1. St. Mary’s High School is in the North-West corner of the map.
2. Cheshunt Football Club is in the North-East corner of the map.
3. The dual-carriageway A10 runs North-South on the map.
4. I believe that Google’s Waltham Cross Data Centre will be located in the field to the West of the A10, at the top of the map.
5. The A10 connects to the M25 at Junction 25, which is in the centre at the bottom of the map.
6. In The Location Of Sunset Studios In Broxbourne,  Sunset Studios are placed to the North West of the Junction 25 roundabout.
7. Just as the A10 forms the Eastern boundary of both sites, the New River forms the Western boundary.

The two sites are close together between the A10 and the New River, separated by the dual-carriageway Lieutenant Ellis Way.

Will Google’s Data Centre Be Storing Data For Sunset Studios?

I’ve never worked in the production of films, but these days with digital electronic cameras, CGI, motion capture and other techniques, producing a film must need huge amounts of data storage.

• So have Sunset Studios outsourced their data storage needs to Google?
• Perhaps too, Sunset Studios found the local authority welcoming and this attitude was recommended to Google.
• Both sites will need local services like electricity, gas, sewage and water.

I suspect that there would be cost savings in construction and operation, if the two sites shared the utilities.

Providing Electricity And Heat For Both Sites

Consider.

• I estimate from information given in the Wikipedia entry for Google Data Centres, that a data centre needs between 10 and 12 MW.
• There is no obvious power source like offshore wind or a nuclear power station nearby.
• There is the 715 MW Rye House gas-fired power station, which is a few miles away.
• In Google Buys Scottish Offshore Wind Power, I talked about how Google had signed a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement to buy 100 MW from the Moray West offshore wind farm.

Google and Sunset Studios would also want an electrical and heat supply that is at least 100 % reliable.

Liverpool University had the same problem on their hundred acre campus in the centre of Liverpool.

• The University decided to build their own 4 MW Combined Heat and Power Unit (CHP), which is described in this data sheet.
• It is fired by natural gas.
• On their web site, Liverpool University state that their CHP can be adapted to different fuel blends. I take this includes zero-carbon fuels like hydrogen and carbon-neutral fuels like biomethane.

But given their location in Waltham Cross close to the Lea Valley, CHP units may have a use for their carbon dioxide.

This Google Map shows between Junction 15 of the M25 and Tomworld.

Note.

1. Junction 25 of the M25, where it joins the A10 is in the South-West corner of the map.
2. The sites of Google’s Data Centre and Sunset Studios can be picked out with reference to the previous map.
3. Tomworld is in the North-East corner of the map.
4. So why should Tomworld need a lot of carbon-dioxide?

This Google Map shows Tomworld.

Note.

1. This web page indicates what Tomworld do.
2. They have 44 acres of glass growing tomatoes, about five miles to the North-East of Google’s Data Centre.
3. The map has lots of other greenhouses.

I know of a guy, who has a large greenhouse, that grows tomatoes for the supermarkets.

• He heats the greenhouse with a gas-fired Combined Heat and Power Unit (CHP).
• The electricity produced runs his business.
• Any surplus electricity is fed into the grid.
• The carbon dioxide is fed to the plants in the greenhouse, which helps them grow quality tomatoes.

I just wonder, if carbon dioxide from CHP units at Google’s Data Centre and Sunset Studios could be used by the multitude of greenhouses in the Lea Valley.

Could A Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Be Built Along The M25?

This Google Map shows the Northern section of the M25, South of Waltham Cross.

Note.

1. The M25 running East-West across the bottom of the map.
2. Junction 25 of the M25 in the South-West corner of the map.
3. The A10 running North-South at the West of the map.
4. Google’s data centre and Sunset Studio are to the West of the A10.
5. The River Lee, which has numerous water courses is at the East of the map.

I wonder, if a carbon dioxide pipeline could be built along the M25 to connect the producers to those who could use it?

• It would not be a dangerous pipeline as carbon dioxide is a fire extinguisher.
• It wouldn’t be a huge pipe.

I think it would be possible.

Google’s Commitment To Being Zero-Carbon

This blog post on the Google web site is entitled Our $1 Billion Investment In A New UK Data Centre, has a section, which has a sub-title of 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy By 2030, where this is a paragraph.

Additionally, we’re also exploring new and innovative ways to use the heat generated by data centres, and this new facility will also have provisions for off-site heat recovery. Off-site heat recovery presents an opportunity for energy conservation that benefits the local community, as it allows us to capture the heat generated by the data centre so that it can be used by nearby homes and businesses. The data centre is also set to deploy an air-based cooling system.

If they are  using off-site heat recovery, it would be logical to use waste carbon dioxide from CHPs to provide carbon dioxide for the local horticultural businesses.

Will Google Be Building A Vertical Farm Nearby?

In Schneider Electric: Vertical Farming – The Next Yield In Data Centre Sustainability, I noted that some data centres are paired with vertical farms to increase their sustainability.

Could Google be doing that in Waltham Cross?

• They will have a lot of waste heat.
• They will have a fair bit of carbon dioxide, which could be used to help plants grow.
• The local workforce probably contains a lot of experience of market gardening.

I like the idea of pairing a data centre and a vertical farm.

Public Transport Access

Consider.

• Increasingly, the cost of electric vehicles, medical problems and the UK economic situation are causing people to adopt a car-free lifestyle.
• After my stroke, my eyesight deteriorated such, that I am no longer allowed to drive.
• Others may live in one-car families and it may not be their’s to use every day.
• Or your car may just break down on the way to work.

For these and probably lots of other reasons, any large site employing a lot of employees, must have a valid way of getting there by public transport.

The nearest rail station to Google’s Data Centre and Sunset Studios is Theobalds Grove station.

This Google Map shows the roads between the sites and the station.

Note.

1. The Sunset Waltham Cross label in the South West corner.
2. Google’s Data Centre will be just off the map to the West of the A10.
3. Theobalds Grove station is marked by the TfL roundel in the North-East corner of the map.
4. There would appear to be no bus stops on Winston Churchill Way or the A10.

I walked South from the station to Winston Churchill Way, where I took these pictures.

Note.

1. At that point, I gave up because of the cold and pollution.
2. It was also a Saturday morning about midday.

The route I took is certainly not an alternative route to get to Google’s Data Centre or Sunset Studios.

A Possible Station At Park Plaza North

This article on the BBC is entitled Broxbourne: Two New Stations Planned.

This is the sub-heading.

Two new train stations could be built in Hertfordshire if plans to tighten planning policies are adopted.

This is the first paragraph.

Broxbourne Borough Council said stops at Park Plaza North – between Turkey Street and Theobalds Grove London Overground stations – and Turnford on the London to Bishop’s Stortford route would be subject to a consultation.

Later the BBC say that Park Plaza North station will be South of the A121 Winston Churchill Way near Waltham Cross

This Google Map shows the area South-East of the roundabout, where Winston Churchill Way meets the A10.

Note.

1. The green patch of land to the South-East of the roundabout where Winston Churchill Way meets the A10 appears to be ripe for development.
2. Looking at the green patch with a higher resolution, the land is little more than high class scrub beloved of newts.
3. The London Overground line to Cheshunt runs down the East side of the site.
4. To the North, the London Overground crosses Winston Churchill Way to get to Theobalds Grove station.
5. To the South, the London Overground crosses the M25 to get to Turkey Street station.
6. There is a lane running East-West along the South edge of the site, which crosses the railway in a level crossing.

This picture clipped from Google StreetView shows the level crossing.

This is certainly one, that drivers dread.

This GoogleMap shows the level crossing and a stretch of the London Overground.

Note.

1. The level crossing is in the South-East corner of the map.
2. There isn’t much space to put a London-bound platform on the East side of the tracks, South of the Park Road circle.
3. There is plenty of space to put a Cheshunt-bound platform on the West side of the tracks.
4. North of the Park Road circle, there would appear to be space for two platforms.

It will need a lot of ingenuity to provide a safe and efficient solution to the problems of the level crossing and fitting a station in this limited space.

The first thing I’d do, would be to dig an underpass for pedestrians and cyclists to connect the two halves of Park Lane.

January 21, 2024 Posted by AnonW | Computing, Energy, Food, Transport/Travel | Buses, Carbon Capture And Use, Carbon Dioxide, Combined Heat And Power, Corporate Power Purchase Agreement, Decarbonisation, Google, Google Waltham Cross Data Centre, Greenhouses, Level Crossing, Liverpool University, Moray West Wind Farm, Rye House Power Station, Sunset Studios, Theobalds Grove Station, Tomatoes, Vertical Farming | 9 Comments