Published in Scotland

Scotland continues to pursue data center developers and suggests five possible locations

Jun 16, 2023 | Posted by Abdul-Rahman Oladimeji

The Scottish authorities are still trying to attract data center developers to their country. Twenty potential data center sites in the nation have been identified in a report created by Host in Scotland in support of the Scottish Authorities, including five additional spots not mentioned in an earlier report. Scotland has previously expressed interest in becoming a data center powerhouse. The government began a campaign in 2021 to become a green data center destination. 15 potential sites were at the time listed by Host in Scotland. The additions to the list are located in Aberdeen, Fife, Falkirk, and two additional locations in Midlothian.

It raises the question of why real estate companies are scrambling to locate pricey, underpowered, and non-green data center sites near Greater London and the M4, as the report claims that it is attempting to market locations with abundant energy, low costs, and direct access to renewables. Climate and renewable energy resources make Scotland an ideal location for data center operators, according to Henry Sutton, director of TechRE, which assisted with the research.

Even though there was a campaign for more data center construction two years ago, Scotland hasn't seen much progress. Oracle shut down the Sun Microsystems data center in Linlithgow, Scotland, in December 2021. DataVita has established a new data center in Glasgow within the office development of its parent company and will expand its Fortis data center in August 2022. Since the beginning of the campaign, no significant building projects have been announced.

There are 37 data centers in Scotland.

Planned SDCL hyperscale data centre at Cockenzie Power Station's coal store.
Posted in SDCL: Cockenzie Campus Source: East Lothian Council
Area of Westerhill AI Energy Campus in Glasgow
Posted in Apatura: Westerhill AI Campus Source: Apatura
Location of Apatura's planned data center in plean outside Falkirk, in Stirling.
Posted in Apatura: Larbert AI DC Source: Apatura
Apatura plans an integrated data center campus with on-site battery storage
Posted in Apatura: Coldstream Source: Google Maps
Rendering of Apatura data center outside Motherwell
Posted in Apatura: Wishaw, Motherwell Source: Ravenscraig Ltd
Apatura sets sights on data center developments across Scotland
Posted in Apatura: East Ayrshire Source: Apatura
Datavita's DV2 Data Center in Glasgow, Scotland
Posted in DataVita: Glasgow DV2 Source: HFD Group
The Front Entrance of the Fortis Data Centre
Posted in DataVita: Lanarkshire DV1 Source: Fortis
Inside Macmerry Data Centre
Posted in RBS Macmerry Source: Michael Laird Architects
Inside RBS's Data Centre
Posted in RBS Macmerry Source: Michael Laird Architects
Inside RBS's Data Centre
Posted in RBS Macmerry Source: Michael Laird Architects
RBS Video Camera
Posted in RBS Macmerry |
Exterior of the RBS Macmerry Data Centre
Posted in RBS Macmerry Source: Michael Laird Architects
Royal Bank of Scotland Data Centre in Macmerry Near Edinburgh
Posted in RBS Macmerry |
Location Total SqFt Gross SqFt Power (MW)
brightsolid Dundee
Apatura: East Ayrshire 484,375 SqFt
Apatura: Coldstream 753,474 SqFt
Killellan AI Growth Zone
brightsolid Aberdeen NN

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