Holyrood is “inching towards a moratorium” on hyperscale datacentres after unprecedented local opposition to proposals such as a planned 600MW facility at Auchertool, Fife. The Auchertool scheme would be about 35 metres high, cover an area larger than 100 football pitches, and has attracted roughly 1,600 objections, MSP David Torrance said, calling it the strongest local backlash he has seen in 25 years. Similar giant proposals are pending near Airdrie and Larbert, and campaigners warn the wave of applications could reshape Scotland’s landscape and resource use. The Scottish government’s minister for public finance has issued new directions requiring planning authorities to notify ministers of any datacentre application over 50MW and to require environmental impact assessments for certain sites, including Auchertool, after developers had argued they were exempt. Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said MSPs returning to parliament after the summer will have heard constituents’ concerns and expect action. UK officials including Neso chief executive Fintan Slye had been encouraging developers to come to Scotland because of abundant energy and water, but the combination of new ministerial directions and growing local opposition means some proposed datacentres may now be blocked or face much tighter scrutiny when parliament reconvenes later this month.
