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MSPs will head to the chamber on Thursday to debate Scotland's energy future, but concerns have been raised over how truly independent a devolved energy system would be.
With an abundance of renewable potential, existing academic excellence in engineering and energy, and a skilled workforce in the oil and gas industry, the SNP are set to lay out their case for Scotland's energy independence, and Scotland's second chance at energy-driven wealth.
Submitted by new energy minister, Stephen Gethins, the "It's Scotland's Energy" motion will introduce the debate on whether or not "Scotland’s energy should be in Scotland’s hands," calling "for all energy powers to be immediately devolved to the Scottish Parliament."
The debate comes just one day after Ofcom announced a 13% increase to the energy price cap, hitting consumer's pockets while oil and gas prices spike amid war in Iran.
Gethins responded to the price cap increase, which will equate to a rise of £18 a month for the average household using both electricity and gas, saying the price increase simply “does not add up” as Scotland is an energy-rich nation, yet pays some of the highest energy bills in Europe.
He added: “In an energy-rich country like Scotland, nobody should be struggling to pay their bills – and the fact that so many are shows the fundamental problem with having control of Scotland’s energy resources in the hands of Westminster governments.
“Whether Labour or Tory, these Westminster governments have completely let Scotland down – they have used the North Sea as a cash cow, are decimating the industry and giving Scotland nothing in return.”
The It's Scotland's Energy campaign launched back in December 2025, with the First Minister saying in his opening speech that Scotland is well placed to "become one of the most attractive locations on the planet for the hi-tech, energy intensive industries of the future, enabling us to turbo-charge our nation’s economic prospects."
But the question of what these industries are, and who they support, has led to backlash.
There are growing concerns over the impact artificial intelligence (AI) will have on Scotland's energy network, with planned data centres forecasted to more than double Scotland's peak energy demand.
Beyond energy demand, there are also questions over what platforms these data centres will support.
One of the leading campaigners against hyperscale AI data centre developments, Dr Kat Jones, director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland, said: "If these data centres get built it certainly won't be Scotland’s Energy, it will be Silicon Valley’s energy, and Scotland risks sky-rocketing energy prices and energy blackouts if we continue without a proper policy in place.
"The Scottish Government need to get a grip on the situation and put some proper policy in place around energy use and impacts of hyperscale AI data centres.”
Academics at Edinburgh University have campaigned against the institution’s cooperation with OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. In an open letter signed by more than 350 people, academics outlined fears that the deal with the ChatGPT developer "does not align" with the university’s artificial intelligence and procurement principles and is "unsafe" and "insecure".
Elsewhere, fears have been raised about the use of AI, particularly in the public sector, due to concerns over the validity of AI model output and potential bias in the models.
Speaking to The National, Dr Mark Wong, senior lecturer in social and urban policy at Glasgow University, said that AI continues to produce biased outcomes for marginalised groups, adding that this could perpetuate inequalities if the technology is rolled out further in the public sector.
He said that there "has been very little thought, guidance and frameworks [developed] around how to make sure AI is ethical."
He added that there has been "a lot of talk" about making AI fairer and more accurate, but right now there is "no clear path" to get there.
The UK Government has faced sustained backlash over its contracts with US-tech firm Palantir, which uses AI to enhance its surveillance data services. Its services have been used by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to target, identify and locate immigrants.
“This is an inconceivable amount of energy that Scotland is being asked to divert to the use of hyperscale AI data centres, which will enrich a few billionaires in Silicon valley at the expense of the Scottish consumer," Jones added.
"No discussion on energy in Scotland can ignore the impact that these data centres would have on our electricity grid and energy prices.”
