A Cumbrian technology firm is turning to renewable energy to meet the escalating power needs of artificial intelligence (AI).

SMS Speedway of Roweltown, near Carlisle, has installed two 15-kilowatt wind turbines and is bolstering solar capacity and battery storage.

The new systems could accommodate up to 90 per cent of the company's energy demands.

Chief executive Bradley Kieser said: "We are using the natural resources of Cumbria – wind and solar – to generate the electricity for our servers.

"As AI becomes ever more capable of tackling increasingly complex tasks, the energy requirements increase exponentially.

"We strive to be a green business so this is our way of ensuring that we’re not contributing to global warming through our activities."

SMS Speedway, which develops AI-based applications for the e-commerce, property, and finance sectors, was originally founded in the nineties as a communication company.

Whilst it acknowledges certain areas where AI can enhance energy use efficiency, like refining transport logistics, research indicates a significant surge in energy consumption due to AI advancements.

A recent study by Alex De Vries from VU Amsterdam School of Business and Economics revealed that by 2027, the global energy consumption of AI could reach a staggering 85-134 terawatt hours of electricity, equivalent to the total annual power consumption of a country the size of the Netherlands.

Mr Kieser said: "New technologies such as Mamba come along that should flatten the consumption curve but the carbon footprint is already very big."

When power needs to be purchased, SMS Speedway sources electricity from Octopus Energy, a renewables specialist.

But investment in battery storage will aid in minimising external electricity purchases, facilitating storage of generated electricity for supply continuity when there is no wind or sunshine.

The business also uses AI to ensure efficiency is optimised.

Using AI, non-time sensitive, energy-demanding tasks are scheduled for execution when renewable power supply is abundant.

And as servers are on-site, customers data is able to be held securely by SMS Speedway.

Mr Kieser said: said: “Our AI systems are not connected to the internet so there is no data leakage.

"We base our AI solutions on open-source AI, which ensures they are private, secure and GDPR compliant."