A THREE-DAY protest against a proposed AI data centre on the 900-year-old estate of a Scottish clan has begun.
The Reject Hunterston Data Centre campaign aims to block the development of a hyperscale 500MW data centre, which would make it one of the largest in the world.
Protesters gathered on Friday at around 10.30am with subsequent protests planned at the same time on Saturday and Sunday. The organisers told The National that the duration will depend on numbers, but each day's protest will last until 1.30pm at the earliest.
It coincides with the annual gathering of "Clan Hunter", a three-day celebration of the estate and family's history and heritage.
The data centre's buildings would use around 30 hectares of agricultural land owned by Clan Hunter, with a total campus size of around 88 hectares. The castle on the estate is believed to be the oldest still owned by the family that constructed it, having been built in the 13th century.
According to the developer's website, the centre would use a "closed-loop" cooling system, meaning its real water usage would be dramatically lower than many data centre projects that have led to droughts in areas of the US.
The use of sealed pipes and chemical coolants mean that water consumption would be more equivalent to a corporate office, although this method does require more energy.
It is understood that the development is being progressed in collaboration with the estate owners and is awaiting a decision from North Ayrshire Council on what needs to be included in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
A statement released in May by estate agents Savills, on behalf of Clan Hunter, said: "Hunterston Estate is at an early stage of exploring the potential for a large-scale data centre on a part of the estate.
"The project is currently at the scoping stage, and no planning application has yet been submitted. This means there is still considerable time before any formal decisions are made.
"The estate takes its responsibilities as landowner seriously – to the land, to the people who live and work on it, and to its long-term future.
"Any developments will be carefully planned and sited on appropriate land, with sustainable farming continuing across other parts of the estate."
The statement added that revenue generated from the project would support the maintenance and restoration of the rest of the estate.
"This is a proposal at an early stage. Nothing has been decided, and the estate is committed to a thorough planning process with full community and tenant engagement.
"Any development will be on land of appropriate use, away from the best agricultural land on the estate. Farming will continue. Public footpaths and access routes will be maintained," it added.
The developers have said public access to the wider estate will continue, "subject to any temporary restrictions that may be required during construction for safety reasons," but added that "the data centre campus itself will be a secure, managed site with controlled access".
Commenting on the protest, campaign organiser Laura Roberts said: "This weekend hundreds of people from clan hunter are assembling at Hunterston castle, a 900 year old peel tower and the oldest castle in Scotland still owned by the family who built it.
"We are here to raise awareness to the Clan members, who have gathered from across the world, of the threat to this special place.
"Unbelievably, Hunterston Estate are planning to build a huge hyperscale AI data centre right on the doorstep of the castle, the boundary is only 50m away.
"We are calling on the members of Clan Hunter to rise in defense of this castle as they have many times in the past when it has been under threat
"Our protest sends a clear message to North Ayrshire Council, Eneus and the Hunterston Estate: We will not stand by and watch nearly 84 hectares of our precious coastal and agricultural land be turned into a towering, 35-metre-high industrial complex.
"We are not against progress, but we refuse to be kept in the dark about the massive energy and environmental costs of these speculative hyperscale data centres. We are standing up to protect our heritage, our environment, and our community’s future."
Estate agent's Savills previously told The National that "engagement with the wider local community in the North Ayrshire Coast area will form part of the planning process in due course."
The three-day protest comes amid backlash against data centre developments across Scotland, with communities in Fife, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, and the Scottish Borders, among others, campaigning against their construction.
With 24 sites being put forward for huge AI data centre facilities, the total energy demand these alone could be as high as 6.4GW, more than doubling Scotland’s peak energy usage of just over 4GW.
Further concerns have been raised about what sites are actually appropriate for the large industrial structures.
In the case of Hunterston the area is surrounded by various brownfield sites, including former coal yards around 1km north, which were highlighted in a Scottish Enterprise report as being a potential site for data centre development, and land around the Hunterston A and B power stations.
Despite this, Grade 3 agricultural land – meaning it is good to moderate quality for crop farming – adjacent to a Category A listed building and on the historic lands of Clan Hunter is currently the site being proposed.
The developers have said that the buildings will be "designed in a manner which respects the local landscape and views from public locations", with natural buffers like trees and shrubs grown in some areas, including between the site and the castle.
"A buffer zone has been established between the castle and the nearest data centre buildings," they added.
The estate already has a 450MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to be constructed on its land, a move campaign group Action to Protect Rural Scotland (APRSE) has said "should evidently never been permitted on this large area of agricultural land" due to its proximity to the listed castle and "large quantities of brownfield land extremely close by".
The backlash against the location is similar to the proposed site in Auchtertool, Fife, where the 600MW data centre proposed would dwarf the neighbouring village in size.
Developers have said the closure of the Mossmorran Ethylene plant, also in Fife, make the area a good fit for renewed industrial activity, citing job creation and the reduction in demand for water and energy after the closure.
However, analysis by APRS has found that the expected employment figures of AI data centres are generally very low – between 20-50 permanent jobs – many of which would be lower-paid jobs for security and cleaning rather than highly skilled technical jobs
Most four-figures predictions being quoted by developers and politicians include temporary construction jobs, which would likely be around 1000.
Pressure from groups like those in Auchtertool and Hunterston have led to several councils – Edinburgh and East Ayrshire – calling on the Scottish Government to implement a moratorium on hyperscale AI data centres – which differ from the existing small-to-moderate scale data centres which consume much less energy (generally up to 50MW) and are used for general internet and cloud computing services.
Campaigners hope a moratorium can be put in place until Scottish planning policy catches up to the expansion of services like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, which demand huge amounts of energy.
Scotland's current planning framework, which designates "green data centres" as nationally important infrastructure – without providing a definition of "green" – was formulated before these AI products were widely used.
The National revealed earlier this month that the SNP's National Council – a key decision making body in the party – had voted in favour of supporting a moratorium, with an official motion expected to appear in front of Parliament upon its return from recess.
It is currently unknown if this would impact developments – like those in Auchtertool, Larbert, and the Lammermuir Hills – which already have live planning applications being considered by their corresponding councils.
The Scottish Greens have voiced clear support for a moratorium, suggesting a motion would pass if it makes it to Holyrood due to the combined majority of 73 seats held by the two pro-independence parties.
Clan Hunter, Savills, and Eneus Energy have been approached for comment.
