'Unlikely' all proposed Scottish AI data centres will be built
There are dozens of planning applications to built hyperscale AI data centres in Scotland.
AI experts have said it is unlikely all the data centres being planned in Scotland will be built as the current number of planning applications is “unfeasibly large”.
There are current 15 AI data centres in operation across Scotland, the largest of which has an operating capacity of 12MW.
However there has been a spike in planning applications, with 24 proposals for major new sites as of the beginning of September. If all of these are approved, they will consume 6,000MW - more than 1.5 times the total peak power use in the country at the moment.
AI data centres store, process and run large amounts of data and software to power the internet. Scotland is regarded as a prime location because of the amount of renewable energy produced here.
However Holyrood’s energy committee has been told it is unlikely all of the proposed sites will go ahead.
Dr Callum MacIver, a research fellow at Strathclyde University, told the committee: “High level data centre demand is likely to be a significant proportion of future demand at a Scottish level.
“The current connection queue is unfeasibly large with a huge amount of AI data centres asking to join the system.
“It is unlikely they will all be able to follow through.”
He added: “In a Scottish context, a single big data centre could be a large proportion of Scottish energy demand, so having 10 centres is very significant.”
He also warned there could be a chance these data centres would increase the need to burn fossil fuels, as many of the data centres will rely on a gas or diesel for back-up.
Matt Magill, director of engineering at the National Energy System Operator, said diesel use should be minimal if it is truly only used as a back up when data centres lose connection to the grid.
He also argued that “increasing levels of data centre capability” have been factored into future energy use plans.
The expert panel was also unable to rule out an increase to household energy bills on the back of AI data centre expansion. The panel also said it could be useful to look at the issue as a whole rather than as individual planning applications.
This comes as the Scottish Greens prepare to push MSPs into backing a moratorium on all AI data centre planning applications.
The Greens have two opposition day debate slots scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Holyrood, and are using one of the slots to debate this issue.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “The SNP’s position on this should be clear - their own national council has backed a pause, their own MSPs have called for a pause, and communities across Scotland are demanding one as well.
“Under the Scottish Government’s watch, this issue has been allowed to rumble on while ministers have wavered and failed to take the action communities need.
“The SNP government’s response so far has not paused a single application whilst fundamental questions, like what a ‘green’ data centre is, are left unanswered.
“We cannot allow a speculative free-for-all while Scotland still has no coherent national strategy for how many of these enormous developments the country needs, where they should be allowed, or what standards they should have to meet.”
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