John Swinney is considering introducing national planning guidance for hyperscale AI data centres following growing pressure from communities, local authorities and the Scottish Greens.
The First Minister said the Scottish Government must respond to concerns from council planning departments as they face a wave of proposals for vast, energy-intensive developments across Scotland.
His intervention came after more than 6,000 people wrote to him in support of the Scottish Greens’ call for a moratorium on new hyperscale data centres.
READ MORE:
- Hyperscale AI data centres ban call amid impacted communities
- Edinburgh councillors call for nationwide data centre moratorium
- 'Unbelievable' that data centres won't need EIAs, say Greens
Campaigners representing communities affected by proposed developments also gathered outside the Scottish Parliament this week.
Challenging Mr Swinney at First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay warned that councils were being asked to consider unprecedented developments without adequate national direction.
She said: “Communities are rightly worried about the local environmental impacts and the massive strain on our energy system these applications could bring.”
Ms Mackay urged ministers to pause decisions on applications while the Scottish Government assesses their impact and produces clear guidance for planning authorities.
She also highlighted comments from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who warned that AI data centres are “hungry for land, water and power.”
Mr Guterres has called on major artificial intelligence companies to publish the full environmental impact of their systems, including their carbon emissions and use of water and land.
Ms Mackay asked whether the First Minister would support those calls and introduce a moratorium, or allow a “free for all” on hyperscale data centre development.
Mr Swinney said he “totally understands” concerns over the potential environmental consequences.
He told MSPs: “I’ve been reflecting on the exchanges last week and looked further on this issue and I’m giving active consideration to whether the Scottish Government should provide planning guidance to balance the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centres with national energy and climate goals which are vital to our future prosperity.”
The remarks represented a change in emphasis from the previous week, when Mr Swinney told Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer that existing national planning policy allowed councils to assess applications appropriately.
Mr Greer had warned that 24 proposed developments identified across Scotland could collectively require up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity — more than one-and-a-half times the country’s current peak demand.
The Greens argue that applications should be paused until the Government has assessed their combined effect on the electricity grid, energy bills and Scotland’s statutory climate targets.
Climate Action Secretary Gillian Martin has previously rejected calls for a moratorium but acknowledged that planning authorities were seeking greater clarity. She said work to examine whether additional guidance or regulation was necessary could be accelerated.
Ms Mackay raised concerns from councils in Edinburgh and Fife, where major data centre proposals have triggered opposition from residents and environmental campaigners.
Edinburgh councillors recently concluded that a locally imposed moratorium would be difficult to enforce and instead called on the Scottish Government to introduce a nationwide pause until a clear definition of a “green data centre” is produced.
In Fife, ILI Cato Limited has submitted plans for a 600MW AI-focused data centre near Auchtertool. The proposed complex would operate around the clock and form part of a wider network of large data centres planned across Scotland’s Central Belt.
The developer says the project would aim to operate using renewable electricity, attract major investment and create hundreds of construction and skilled technology jobs. It has said the site was selected partly because of its strong connection to the electricity grid and proximity to the former Mossmorran industrial complex.
However, residents have raised concerns about the development’s scale, energy consumption, effect on the landscape and potential demand for water. Fife Council has also sought direction from the Scottish Government over the environmental assessment of the proposal.
Current Scottish planning policy supports major “green data centres” as nationally important digital infrastructure, but campaigners argue that it does not provide a sufficiently robust or enforceable definition of what qualifies as green.
Hyperscale data centres house large amounts of computer servers and are designed to support cloud computing and increasingly demanding artificial intelligence systems. They operate continuously and require substantial electricity for both computing and cooling.
Mr Swinney stopped short of endorsing the Greens’ proposed moratorium, but indicated that national guidance was now under serious consideration.
He said: “My view is that with the concerns being expressed by planning authorities, the government has to be responsive to that.”
