Two new planning applications have been submitted for hyperscale AI data centres, one in Greenock and one in Chapelhall, Airdrie, and neither is being required to do an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). We are asking people to email their MSPs.
The Programme for Government, published today, lays out actions the Government will take over the next five years with a specific focus over the next year. It said the government were putting in place a strategic approach to green data centres “with clear expectations around environmental sustainability, resource use, community benefit and the economic and strategic value these developments should deliver.”
An application for Planning in Principle has been received for a data centre on a site with current planning permission
The developers of the 600MW Hyperscale data Centre at Auchtertool intend to use energy from a pump storage scheme they are developing in Argyll, which has been labelled extremely damaging by environmentalists, to power their data centre. This story has been brought together by Penny Sinclair of the Auchtertool Action Group
Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, a coalition of over 70 civil society groups and organisations have backed APRS’s campaign for a pause on hyperscale data centres in Scotland and have written a document for the Government to look at what the conditions might be to lift the moratorium
With the energy price cap going up today and news that bills will be rising for households this winter, we calculated that the AI Growth zone electricity subsidies mean that the current site plus extension would get subsidies of £6.7 million a year when complete, and the whole AI growth zone which is planned to be 500MW, when constructed, would get a subsidy of over £80 million a year.
This week The National did a series on hyperscale data centres and this essay was published on the first day of the series. In it Kat Jones, APRS Director, explains about the campaign until now and where do we go from here? You can also watch the podcast she recorded with the National journalist Jamie Calder.
oday fourteen local communities campaigning against proposals for data centres have announced that they will be rallying outside parliament to call for an immediate moratorium on hypercsale AI data centres. As MSPs return to Parliament next week, the campaigners will be gathering and they are inviting the many supporters they have across the country to join them.
Today APRS have written to Hannah Mary Goodlad MSP, Minister for Public Finance welcoming her announcements yesterday and asking for her to go further to bring in EIAs for all hyperscale data centres and a pause on applications for hyperscale data centres to allow for time to put in place the guidance and policies needed.