17th September 2026

Background

According to our research, at least 23 hyperscale data centres (defined as using 50MW+ power) have been proposed for Scotland, with 21 already in the planning system. A NESO official giving evidence at the Economy, Energy and Tourism committee on 14th September said there were 30 in the planning with a total of 9.7GW of energy demand. This power demand is double that of Scotland’s peak electricity demand. Some projects in the pipeline would use 1000MW. As far as we know, Scotland has around 40MW (0.04GW) of data centre capacity at present.  

Community campaigners against these projects have been calling for a moratorium on decisions until Scottish Ministers provide a strategic overview of the grid and decarbonisation and grid implications of these projects and guidance for local councils faced with these applications. 

A SPICe briefing from June sets out (towards the end) how a pause, or moratorium, on applications would work.

Parliament’s decision

The Scottish Greens brought a motion for debate, the text of which echoed SNP policy as passed at their National Council over the summer, and which called for a moratorium. 

In the end, SNP, Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs voted for the key Labour amendment, which called on the Scottish Government 

“to report back to Parliament on the development of national planning guidance by the end of the current calendar year and to publish this guidance in full within 12 months, and believes that no decisions on planning or consenting in relation to such applications should be made until this has been completed”: in other words a pause until Ministers have issued “national planning guidance, alongside robust environmental standards and assessments, to inform national and local decision-making on current and potential hyperscale data centre planning applications”. 

The final outcome (motion as amended) is one which seemed unlikely even just before summer recess, and APRS and the community campaigns are therefore extremely grateful to the Scottish Greens for pressure on this issue since the election and for bringing the debate yesterday. We are also grateful to Scottish Labour for their constructive amendment, to those MSPs who voted for it, and to all Members across the Chamber who have supported their local community campaigns and raised the issue in the Chamber. 

Our view is that the key elements of the text cover much of what needs to happen, but it needs to include a full assessment on the impacts of hyperscale data centres on the grid, climate targets, land use, health and communities; and an assessment of need made for hyperscale data centres.  

We are also delighted that Scottish Ministers have accepted the need for all applications over 50MW, including those already in the planning process, to be accompanied by Environmental Impact Assessments. This means that live planning applications for Chapelhall and Greenock have been paused, along with Auchtertool which received a screening direction in August, while the developers prepare EIAs,and that any future planning applications will need to be submitted with an EIA.

What needs to happen next

This decision by the Scottish Parliament is already taking effect. Last night, after Decision Time, a pre-determination hearing was held into the Apartura hyperscale data centre proposal at Larbert, and the developers told the hearing  they acknowledged the vote just taken in the Parliament and  would be pausing the application until the guidance is published. The other applications in the full planning process are now also on hold given they are now required to conduct an environmental impact assessment.

However, many issues still need to be urgently resolved, and they fall into two categories. In the short term:

• Scottish Ministers should formally make their position clear, which may be to set a “no support” policy to run until the various elements of strategic work required are complete and have been consulted on as discussed in the SPICe briefing above; and
• Ministers should use the notification mechanism they adopted during summer recess to call in current applications. 

Over the medium term, the work required by the Parliament last night needs then to be carried out. The motion requires: “national planning guidance, alongside robust environmental standards and assessments, to inform national and local decision-making on current and potential hyperscale data centre planning applications”. It is vital, given the level of public interest in this issue, that this involves opportunity for civil society to input to, both the scope, and the content, of the work. Our preference is for this work to be carried out both quickly and in a robust manner, but the latter is of course our priority. 

On 25th June 2026 the First Minister told Parliament in response to a question from Gillian Mackay MSP that he was “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”. Such an exercise, looking at the cumulative impacts of these proposals on the grid and on decarbonisation, must be at the core of this national strategic work, alongside the “clarity on spatial, community and social impacts of any such developments” Parliament has asked Ministers to provide.

This is not the end of the road, and communities have yet to have the full reassurances they need about the next steps. But it is a substantial step forward, and APRS wishes to reiterate our gratitude to all Members who have helped us get to this position. 

 Some reactions from the communities 

Diane Davsdon, a campaigner at Chapelhall, where the AI Growth zone is planned, said:

“We are relieved to have some breathing space. The scale and potential impact of the proposed Chapelhall AI Data Zone is enormous, and residents need time to understand what an AI Data Centre proposal could mean for their area before they can meaningfully be part of the conversation.”

Hazel Mackie, of the Larbert campaign, said:

“Yesterday’s parliamentary vote to “pause” all applications was a further move in the right direction – but would not have happened without relentless and collective pressure from supporters, campaigners and communities across Scotland.  We should all be incredibly proud of that.”

Lisa Beachham, from the Hurlford campaign, said:

“Communities across Scotland are breathing a sigh of relief this afternoon. Thank you to every MSP who supported the amendment to pause applications until proper assessments and guidance can be implemented.”

Sarah Finlay, West Edinburgh against AI data centres, said:

“Our community in West Edinburgh and many others across Scotland have been working tirelessly against US big tech to have their voices heard. We are delighted that MSPs have recognised these calls. There is a lot yet to be understood about the impacts and benefits of AI Hyperscale Data Centres on our resources, environment and communities and we look forward to the national planning guidance and scrutiny.”

Matt Bernico of the Greenock campaign said:
“On the day that the comments closed on the Greenock data centre planning page, the Scottish government brought both a new requirement for Environmental Impact Assessments along with a pause while they write new guidance for data centre planning. Both of these provisions are clear victories for the people of Inverclyde and Scotland. However, it shouldn’t have taken the Scottish Greens forcing a vote to get the government here.”