Scotland delays new AI datacentre approvals for up to a year

Scotland has become an attractive location for datacentre developers in part because of its substantial renewable electricity generation

The Scottish Parliament has voted to pause decisions on planning applications for new AI datacentres for up to 12 months, while the government develops national rules for the rapidly expanding sector.

MSPs backed a Scottish Labour motion calling for tougher environmental assessments and a temporary halt to decisions on new hyperscale datacentre projects.

The move comes as Scotland faces a surge in proposals for large facilities, driven by growing global demand for computing infrastructure to support AI systems.

More than 20 major datacentres have been proposed across the country, including a project in Auchtertool, Fife, which developers have described as potentially the second-largest in the world.

Under the motion approved at Holyrood, new datacentre projects should only proceed where robust environmental impact assessments have been carried out.

Those assessments are expected to consider the effects on nearby communities, as well as issues such as energy use, water consumption and carbon emissions.

The Scottish government had already announced before the vote that large-scale datacentres would be subject to mandatory environmental impact assessments, amid growing concern about the ecological consequences of the AI infrastructure boom.

The government is also expected to develop national planning guidance covering hyperscale datacentres.

People demand clearer planning rules

The decision follows protests at Holyrood earlier this month, when hundreds of people from community groups called for clearer planning rules and a definition of what constitutes a "green" datacentre before large projects are approved.

Scottish Labour economy spokesperson Daniel Johnson said the economic opportunities created by AI investment needed to be considered alongside its effects on communities, the environment and the energy system.

"So far the SNP has failed to do the work needed to get this right - that must change," he said.

He added that national guidance should be delivered "with the urgency needed" and that datacentres should benefit local communities and create good-quality jobs.

Renewable energy attracts AI investment

Scotland has become an attractive location for datacentre developers partly because of its substantial renewable electricity generation, particularly from wind power.

However, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is raising questions about whether the country's electricity network can accommodate the additional demand.

Scotland already produces large amounts of wind power, but limitations in the electricity grid can mean turbines are unable to operate at full capacity.

The Scottish Parliament's Economy, Tourism and Energy Committee is examining how the additional electricity demand from datacentres could affect Scotland's energy system.

One issue under scrutiny is who should ultimately pay for wider upgrades to the transmission network needed to accommodate new large-scale electricity users.

Technology companies are expected to pay their electricity bills, connection charges and network-use costs. But it remains less clear how the cost of broader infrastructure upgrades would be distributed.

Dr Wei Sun, from the University of Edinburgh, said connecting new datacentres could trigger wider upgrades to the electricity system.

"Adding the data centre is probably going to trigger wider system upgrades," he told the BBC.

"Does the data centre also pay for that? I think that's really the question we need to answer," he added.

The Scottish Greens had previously raised the issue with First Minister John Swinney in June, calling for a moratorium on planning approvals.

Swinney said he understood concerns about the environmental impact of hyperscale datacentres and pledged to give "active consideration" to introducing new national planning guidance for local authorities.

He said such guidance could help balance the rapid expansion of datacentres with Scotland's wider energy and climate objectives.