Recognising Concerns Over Hyperscale Data Centre Plans

That the Parliament welcomes the use of machine learning to support sustainable economic and academic activity as part of Scotland’s future economy, and supports projects such as the 39MW University of Edinburgh supercomputer; understands that planning applications for a substantial number of hyperscale data centres across Scotland have already been submitted and that, if developed, these could collectively require at least 6000MW of power, which is equivalent to more than double the whole of Scotland’s peak energy usage; notes that this potential level of demand was not accounted for in the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan, which was published in March 2026; understands that, in other countries, similar projects have been a factor in rising domestic energy costs; further understands that many such projects require diesel or gas-powered backup generation, with potential implications for carbon emissions and local air quality; recognises that the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 discusses “green data centres” without providing a definition, either in terms of climate impact or air quality; notes that there is no mandatory requirement for an Environmental Impact Assessment for such developments; urges Scottish Ministers to engage urgently with communities affected by proposed projects, and calls on the Scottish Government to provide clarity and certainty to local authorities as they consider these unprecedented proposals, including by applying the precautionary approach used in the case of fracking and introducing a national planning moratorium on hyperscale data centres pending a full assessment of their impacts on energy demand, decarbonisation targets, local air quality, and domestic electricity bills.