There must be a pause on all hyperscale data centre proposals in Edinburgh and East Lothian until the Scottish Government can put guidance in place to ensure there is minimal impact on the climate and local communities, say the Scottish Greens.
There is a wave of proposals currently lodged with councils across Scotland. If every proposal is approved, they would consume up to 6000 megawatts of power. That equates to 1.5 times more than our entire country uses in a day.
In Edinburgh and East Lothian, 4 proposals have been put forward to the local authorities to build hyperscale data centres.
Without a national strategy in place, and no real definition of what a “green” data centre should look like, there is little in the way of guidance for councils to follow when they are assessing the suitability of these plans.
Scottish Greens MSP Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill said: “A lot of local people are concerned about the impact that this application would have on our local environment and the community in Lothian.
“It’s time for a halt to all hyperscale developments until there is a national strategy and guidance in place for councils to consider them.
“Developments like this can have a catastrophic environmental impact, taking up far too much water and power. It’s no wonder that local people are so concerned about what it would mean.
“The huge expansion we are seeing is bad for people and planet, and is mainly about enriching giant AI companies.
“Communities around the world have experienced energy price rises as a direct result of similar developments.
“We don’t want the same thing to happen in Edinburgh.”
