New rules requiring Scotland’s biggest data centres to undergo environmental assessments come into force today amid a rapid expansion of proposed AI infrastructure across the country.
The Scottish Government has introduced new planning requirements covering data centres with a power capacity of more than 50 megawatts (MW).
From today (Thursday 17 September), every proposed development above the threshold will automatically require an Environmental Impact Assessment as part of the planning process.
The assessments are designed to identify the likely environmental effects of developments before decisions are made, including their potential impact on energy and water use, biodiversity, landscape, noise, air quality and surrounding communities.
The move comes amid growing scrutiny of plans for a new generation of huge data centres around Scotland, driven partly by rapidly increasing demand for computing power associated with artificial intelligence.
Developments have been proposed at locations including Edinburgh, Fife, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Aberdeenshire.
The Scottish Government said the growth of AI raises national questions around energy demand, water consumption and the hardware required to operate data centres.
Modern data centres can require substantial amounts of electricity to operate thousands of servers and the equipment needed to keep them cool.
Water use has also emerged as an issue, although cooling systems vary significantly between developments and some modern facilities use closed-loop systems designed to reduce consumption.
The new rules mean developers behind facilities exceeding 50MW will no longer rely on the usual screening process to determine whether an EIA is necessary.
Projects below 50MW will continue to be considered individually under existing environmental assessment regulations and could still be required to undergo an EIA.
Public Finance Minister Hannah Mary Goodlad said Scotland had an opportunity to establish stronger safeguards while the industry was still developing.
She said: “We must balance the economic and employment interests in developing data centres with national energy, climate and community wealth building ambitions, which are vital to our future prosperity, as well as the potential impact on local communities.
“Ensuring that an environmental impact assessment is always part of the application process will create a level playing field for developers and will ensure potentially significant environmental effects are considered from the outset.”
Since 17 August, councils have been required to notify Scottish Ministers within seven days when they validate an application for a new data centre with a proposed capacity of more than 50MW.
The government has also intervened directly in several proposals, including recalling an appeal involving a proposed data centre in Edinburgh for a ministerial decision.
The new environmental rules were announced as MSPs debated the rapid expansion of hyperscale data centres at Holyrood on Wednesday.
Concerns raised during the debate included the amount of electricity required by the developments, their potential water consumption, environmental effects and the impact on communities surrounding proposed sites.
Goodlad told MSPs the government was also preparing national guidance covering the sector and intends to bring it forward by Christmas.
Chief Planner Dr Fiona Simpson said the emerging evidence surrounding the industry meant the government considered it appropriate to take a cautious approach to potentially significant environmental effects.