Scotland’s parliament is set to vote on a proposed moratorium on new hyperscale data centers above 50MW. The Scottish Green Party wants large projects paused until a national data center strategy and clear planning rules are established. It says 24 proposed projects could consume 1.5 times Scotland’s current peak electricity demand. The SNP’s national council and some MSPs support the moratorium, though the Greens say government action has been limited.
Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie said: “We will be forcing the Scottish government to make a very simple choice. Will they put a pause on the rush to build hyperscale data centers, or will they continue to allow speculative applications to keep piling up with no national strategy in place?
“If ministers believe Scotland should continue accepting hyperscale data centers on this scale, they should say so. If they recognise that we need a national plan before these projects are allowed to reshape our energy system and our communities, they should back our motion.”
Harvie added: “The Scottish government has had plenty of time to act and till now has chosen not to. Telling councils to notify ministers when an application arrives is not a strategy, and it does nothing to stop these developments. Very basic questions such as what defines a ‘green’ data centre have been left unanswered for far too long.”
