No AI data centre permission until guidance in place
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer urged the Scottish Government to call-in any applications for hyperscale data centres that are approved ahead of guidance being published.
This follows pledges made by Ministers during a debate led by the Scottish Greens yesterday calling for a halt on any decisions on hyperscale data centres until new guidance was in place.
In response to the Scottish Greens’ proposals the Scottish Government committed to introducing mandatory Environmental Impact Assessments and promised to publish guidance for councils by the end of this calendar year.
Ministers also stated that decisions on any of the 24 current hyperscale data centre applications ‘should’ not be made until the new guidance is in place, but stopped short of announcing a formal pause or moratorium.
Councils are facing a surge of applications for massive new data centres. If just the first 24 were approved, they would consume 1.5 times as much electricity as the whole of Scotland currently uses at peak times.
In his first question to the FM, Ross said:
“I want to start by congratulating community groups whose campaigns against hyperscale data centres have forced the Scottish Government to act.
“There is still some confusion over what the Government’s position now is. Ministers will produce guidance for councils by Christmas, that’s welcome, that’s what the Greens called for, but Ministers also said that no decisions will be taken before then.
“I struggle to reconcile that with the reality of the timeline here. The data centres proposed for Larbert, Greenock and Auchtertool could all be decided before then.
“The deadline for determination on the Larbert application is the 4th of October, and the developers in Greenock are working towards a deadline in November.
“The Scottish Government has said categorically that no decisions should be made before this guidance is produced at Christmas. So have they therefore instructed Inverclyde, Falkirk and Fife councils to pause their determinations of these live applications?”
In his response the First Minister said that he did not anticipate that any decisions will be determined by planning authorities before planning guidance is issued later this year.
In his second question Ross said:
“I struggle to reconcile what Ministers said yesterday, what they voted for and what the First Minister has just said today.
“I and the Greens and communities across the country who were celebrating last night because they thought there was a pause, a formal pause, are trying to accept the Government’s position in good faith. But MSPs across this Parliament left the Chamber last night confused because they couldn’t reconcile what Ministers said with what they voted for.
“The Business Minister said no decisions are expected before Christmas based on discussions with council officials. That’s similar to what the First Minister just said. But there’s nothing in the public domain to confirm that.
“The Falkirk Council website today still has the deadline for the determination of the Larbert application as the 4th October, so is the First Minister saying that if a decision on any hyperscale data centre is made before Christmas – as some councils are still intending to do – that the Government will step in and stop that and make the final decision themselves based on the new guidance they are producing?”
In his second answer the First Minister implied that the government would be open to calling in any successful applications made ahead of publication, but again fell short of stating anything outright.
In his final question, Ross said:
“The First Minister’s answer doesn’t provide clarity. It hints at something, it strongly hints that the Government would be willing to recall these decisions so I’m going to welcome that in good faith.
“But I would say again that Falkirk Council still states that a decision on the determination deadline is the 4th of October. The Government’s private discussions with local councils appear to be quite different with what is currently on the public record and that needs to be reconciled if our communities are to have confidence in this process.
“It is very welcome that we have President Connolly of Ireland here in Scotland this week, not just for her leadership in solidarity with the people of Palestine, but also because Ireland is a stark example of what happens when greedy tech companies are allowed to build whatever they want.
“A third of Ireland’s entire domestic energy supply goes to powering data centres. Now that pales in comparison with what’s proposed for Scotland.
“The first 24 applications here would require one and a half times our national energy demand.
"Our Parliament was warned earlier this week that could push up energy bills – that’s exactly what happened in Ireland. For consumers, households in Ireland, because of data centres their energy bills have gone up by the equivalent of £300 a year. Councils can’t take that into account when deciding piecemeal on applications.
“So can I ask the First Minister, will the guidance his government is producing include a clear national strategy on how much of our electricity supply can be used by hyperscale data centres before they damage our climate and push up our energy bills?”