AN interactive map has revealed that developers are proposing a rash of AI data centres right across Scotland – prompting concerns about the impact on electricity prices, communities and the environment.
Eighteen projects are looking for planning permission with a further six in the pipeline, according to Scottish countryside charity APRS which has published the map.
The charity is calling on the Scottish Government to implement a moratorium on the centres until there is a “proper “assessment of the impacts on the electricity grid, climate emissions and communities.
“Hyperscale data centres are some of the biggest buildings in the world and this is why we are seeing them being proposed mainly on greenbelt and greenfield sites,” said Kat Jones of APRS. “Their main requirements are large quantities of land and access to huge amounts of electricity and water. These buildings are huge but the amount of energy they use is absolutely off the scale.”
She said the total demand for energy from the data centres in Scotland’s planning system is now 6200MW, which along with the requirement for the six sites that haven’t reached planning stage yet would take the total to over 11,000MW – nearly three times Scotland’s winter peak demand.
Campaigners are concerned about rising energy prices as they have soared up to 267% in US areas with data centres, according to the Bloomberg data and media company.
“This is an inconceivable amount of energy that Scotland is being asked to divert to the use of hyperscale AI data centres, which will enrich a few billionaires in Silicon valley at the expense of the Scottish consumer,” said Jones.
“No discussion on energy in Scotland can ignore the impact that these data centres would have on our electricity grid and energy prices.
“We are calling for a moratorium to get some proper planning and policies in place.”
Ireland recently lifted a 2021 moratorium on new data centre construction imposed because of fears of blackouts. It was lifted after stringent new rules were put in place requiring data centres to install on-site generation or battery systems capable of meeting their full electricity demand. Operators will also be required to provide power back to the national grid when needed.
In Fife, the community around Auchtertool are up in arms that there has been no environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a huge data centre with an energy demand of 600MW planned near the village. Protestors against the centre claim it would take around 15% of Scotland’s peak winter power demand.
Auchtertool Community Council has said it was “appalled” by Fife Council’s decision not to request an EIA and Fife Green MSP Mark Ruskell branded the decision “unfathomable”.
Local reaction against the huge project last week saw over 200 people pack a public meeting to hear more about the plans by ILI Cato Limited for a data centre campus which could include buildings as high as 35 metres as well as electricity substations, security fencing, gatehouses and other infrastructure.
The community council is now considering legal action against the council while Ruskell said he could not understand how the planning application could be determined without an EIA.
“The very least Fife Council should be doing is requiring a proper environmental assessment of the Auchtertool proposal,” said Ruskell. “Instead, communities are being left to guess what the impact will be of living next to one of the biggest data centres in the world.”
However, the council said the lack of an EIA did not mean environmental issues were being ignored, as supporting information still had to be submitted as part of the planning application.
APRS claims the energy demands of the Auchtertool project alone would take Scotland’s data centre energy demand to the level that resulted in the Irish moratorium.
A campaign group has also been set up in the Scottish Borders against a proposed data centre on a scenic spot in the Lammermuir hills which they claim will industrialise the countryside. Sunlaws Development Company Limited want to build the Southside Data Centre on land near the village of Longformacus.
The planned development on the Roxburghe Estate is for three large two-storey data centre buildings, each with a height up to 24m and each with a ground footprint of circa 27,000 metres squared.
The developers claim it would represent a £2bn investment in the area, bolster the Borders economy to the tune of £12m a year and create 145 high-quality local jobs as well as a possible 1000 jobs in the construction phase.
The site is near the Watch Reservoir but the developers say that as the location benefits from “comparatively low temperatures”, it would not need to draw on local water supplies for cooling purposes and would mainly be powered by nearby wind farms.
However campaigners claim it will lead to the “industrialisation” of the Lammermuir Hills and are sceptical of the job and economic benefit estimates.
An initial consultation at Longformacus Village Hall this week was attended by around 100 members of the public.
A spokesperson for Save the Lammermuirs – Stop the Data Centre, (SLSDC) said afterwards that worries remained about the environmental impact.
“We weren’t able to get any solid information and there is also the question of the local benefits – the numbers didn’t really hold up under scrutiny at this stage,” he said.
“Jobs to be created was one issue. That number initially was 300 and over the weeks it has continued to drop and I believe that now there is a best estimate of 145 but that number was based on data centres around the world and not specifically this one.”
However, a spokesperson for the company said the figures had been compiled by independent Edinburgh-based consultancy, BIGGAR Economics, and the best estimate of 145 jobs was a realistic number of local people that would be employed there.
“The whole point of this is to generate revenue and economic benefit for the area and part of that is sustaining Roxburghe Estate business for the future,” he said.
He added that efforts were under way to encourage housing development to support workers who might move into the area.
The spokesperson said no-one denied data centres needed a lot of energy but the “juice” for this one would come from nearby wind farms which are “largely constrained” because the grid can’t cope with the power generated. There is planning permission agreed for a battery storage system nearby and the second back-up would be the nearby gas main.
As far as the environmental impact is concerned, he said the project would be located in a “bowl” so the visual impact would be less and the roofs would be soiled and planted.
“It’s in the countryside that’s not deniable but the issue is the creation of sustainable economic benefit to the Borders which is obviously largely a rural economy,” said the spokesperson.
“The land is in fact probably one of the best sites for a data centre anywhere in Scotland because of the proximity of the major requirements which are fibre optic connectivity, a cool climate and the power sources.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “AI data centres are an evolving sector. This is why the National Planning Hub has been working with planning authorities, infrastructure providers and industry stakeholders to share an understanding of emerging benefits and impacts.
“The Scottish Government is clear that the voices of communities that will be affected by these kinds of development must be central to any considerations, while planning authorities have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of all developments which require planning permission.
“The Scottish Government is also clear that any new AI infrastructure development should minimise reliance on fossil fuel solutions. Our AI Strategy for Scotland is clear that data centre development should include steps to assess and mitigate potential risks of the infrastructure, including in relation to environmental sustainability.”
You can see the map at here.
