Scottish Government urged to back halt to AI data centres
The Scottish Government is being urged to back a Scottish Green vote to halt all hyperscale data centre applications, as a huge wave of speculative proposals threatens to overwhelm Scotland’s energy system.
Today’s crunch vote will be the first time MSPs have had the opportunity to vote directly on the issue.
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.
The Scottish Greens have called for all data centre applications above 50MW to be paused until Scotland has a clear national strategy, backed by robust criteria for deciding which projects should be allowed to proceed. The SNP’s National Council has also backed a pause, and some SNP MSPs have spoken out in support.
But action from the Scottish Government has so far fallen far short of what is needed. Last month, Ministers introduced new rules requiring councils to notify them when a data centre application is submitted. But the changes do nothing to pause applications, stop unsuitable projects or properly scrutinise the scale of the proposals now piling up.
Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie said:
“Today’s vote gives MSPs their first opportunity to put the brakes on this speculative rush to build massive new AI data centres.
“Scotland is being hit by a huge surge of hyperscale AI data centre proposals, and the Scottish Government is standing by while councils are being left to deal with the consequences.
“The scale of what is being proposed is extraordinary. If the first 24 of these projects are approved they will require one and a half times Scotland’s entire peak electricity consumption. It is completely unsustainable.
“We cannot allow a big tech free-for-all. We cannot approve such huge new demands on our energy system without first asking whether these projects are in Scotland’s interests, where the power will come from, and who will ultimately benefit.
“Today MSPs will have a chance to send a clear message and draw a line. Scotland needs a proper national strategy before this speculative frenzy goes any further.
“We need a proper national strategy, and today MSPs can vote to demand one.
“The Scottish Government should listen to the community groups who have been campaigning across the country. We need to put robust criteria in place, and make sure Scotland’s energy, land and infrastructure are working in the public interest rather than being handed over to the big tech industry on a speculative basis.”