A SECOND Scottish council has called for a moratorium on new large-scale “green data centres” until an official definition is agreed upon.
East Ayrshire council agreed at a meeting last week to write to the Scottish Government asking for official guidance and to pause all new planning applications in the meantime.
It comes amid fierce opposition by campaigners and concerns over the number of such planning applications across the country and the impact it might have on issues such as water and electricity usage.
For example, there are plans for an £8 billion AI investment zone in North Lanarkshire, a £5bn data centre project near the small village of Auchtertool in Fife, and a £2bn data centre in the Borders.
In East Ayrshire, there are also plans for a data centre near the village of Hurlford. In total, 24 proposals have been announced so far, needing up to 6000MW of electricity – more than 1.5 times Scotland's current peak demand.
John Swinney has agreed to consider calls from the Scottish Greens and confirmed that the Scottish Government is considering providing planning guidance for councils considering AI data centre applications.
But he hasn’t yet committed to a full moratorium on data centre planning applications until that guidance is finalised.
Edinburgh Council was the first council in Scotland to call for a moratorium, with East Ayrshire now joining them after a motion submitted by SNP councillor Graham Barton.
Lisa Beacham, who is part of a campaign opposing the proposed Hurlford data centre, said that councils don’t have the information they need to assess applications.
“The Scottish Government has been asleep at the wheel while dozens of hyperscale data centres are being planned in Scotland, including the huge one here at Hurlford,” she said.
Dr Kat Jones, director of environmental group Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRS), added that a “firmer commitment” from the Scottish Government is needed.
"We need a firmer commitment from the Scottish government that this work will be done quickly, robustly and thoroughly, and we need a moratorium to be put in place in the meantime as applications are already coming in thick and fast,” she said.
