Wales is looking to secure the lion鈥檚 share of a multi-billion-pound investment in the 海角视频 by US data centre company Vantage. The company, which already has a growing data centre presence in Newport, and is investing to create a new data centre campus at the former Bridgend engine plant, plans to invest 拢12bn across the 海角视频.
The expansion is being driven by increasing adoption of AI . The Cardiff Bay administration said it has been working closely with the US venture since 2020 to support the development of its data centres in Wales.
It is expecting that the lion鈥檚 share of the new investment from Vantage will benefit Wales. Vantage鈥檚 planned investment in Bridgend, will create one of the largest data centre campuses in Europe.
Subject to planning consents and the necessary National Grid connections the company said its planned investment across the 海角视频 would create more than 11,500 jobs - although around 10,000 would be construction related with 1,500 roles at the data centres themselves.
Vantage said it couldn鈥檛 give a figure on projected job creation and investment levels for Wales, or whether it was looking at additional locations in Wales for further data centre investment. Data centre require huge amounts of energy while a huge investment is required to double the transmission capacity of the National Grid.
First Minister Eluned Morgan said: 鈥淲e are seeing that AI is increasingly being used as a power for good, whether that鈥檚 increasing productivity or bringing smarter solutions to everyday problems.
鈥淭here can be enormous benefits to the economy in establishing the tech and wider infrastructure here in Wales. Industry leaders recognise that the conditions are right in Wales, with a government that will do what it can to make these plans a reality.
鈥淭his won鈥檛 happen overnight and it鈥檚 important that the infrastructure, data, skills and talent is in place to ensure that we all benefit from these solutions. There鈥檚 no question that Wales is in an excellent position to benefit, given the work that鈥檚 already in progress here.鈥
Economy Secretary Rebecca Evans is leading a review to explore how Wales can capitalise on opportunities and develop Wales鈥 strengths in the development of AI-based technologies.
Over the past year the Welsh Government has worked with other organisations to develop guidance to support Welsh public bodies in adopting AI in what it described as a responsible, safe and ethical way.
It said Wales has already seen evidence of the value of AI implementation in diagnostic care in the NHS, with a digital pathology platform for prostate and breast cancer detection led by Betsi Cadwaladr seeing a 13% increase in prostate cancer detection rates.
Estyn, the school inspectorate, is also undertaking a review of the use of generative AI in schools, which will explore the potential benefits to schools, while also considering the challenges they pose.
Chief inspector at Estyn, Owen Evans, said: 鈥淲e are very pleased to be launching this important call to gather views from education professionals to better understand how both teachers and pupils are already using generative AI in schools and pupil referral units across Wales.
鈥淕enerative AI has the potential to transform education if used responsibly and its use amongst educators and learners is accelerating at a rapid rate. Having a clearer understanding of the integration of AI in schools at a national level will enable Government to better support and guide the education community in the use of this powerful technology.
鈥淲e would encourage school leaders, teachers and support staff to share their experiences and engage with the survey which is now live. We look forward to meeting with providers over the coming months to speak in more detail about their work in applying AI within their settings. Generative AI presents real opportunities to transform the education sector and the experience of both learners and educators.鈥
