The Scottish Government is tightening oversight of new AI data centres amid concerns about their impact on energy supplies and the environment, but has stopped short of imposing a temporary ban.
Councils will be required to notify ministers within seven days of applications for large-scale data centres, while ministers will take control of an appeal over a proposed development at South Gyle in Edinburgh. Environmental impact assessments have also been ordered for two other proposed sites in Edinburgh and Fife.
Around two dozen major data centre projects are currently proposed across Scotland, which is seen as an attractive location because of its renewable energy resources and cooler climate. However, campaigners have raised concerns about their potentially significant electricity and water requirements.
Nicola Taylor, chief operating officer of ScotlandIS, warned that additional scrutiny must not create further delays for investors.
“Delays or prolonged uncertainty risk discouraging investment in an increasingly competitive global market,” she said.
“Scotland has a genuine opportunity to use its renewable-energy strengths to build an internationally competitive green-compute proposition rather than simply replicating models developed elsewhere. But time is of the essence.”
Public finance minister Hannah Mary Goodlad said: “We must balance the economic and employment interests in developing data centres with national energy, climate and community wealth-building ambitions, which are vital to our future prosperity, as well as the potential impact on local communities.”